Mistakes
by AxJfan
Summary: Yusei: "Come and get us. Just try and stop us." Each chapter is the new episode before I watch it. Follows the plot and all of the actual pairings of 5ds. Yusei-centric, but told from multiple POVs. Who will be the chosen King and who will be the Creator?
1. Mistakes

**Summary: Drabble so far. This is my version (I suppose) of episode 57, which I have yet to watch. Yusei is badly wounded by Uru's attack, but he refuses to die without finishing his fight. Rudger can't understand why Yusei can still stand when Dr. Fudo couldn't.**

**I may actually expand this into a story and keep updating it before the new episodes air... or I might just turn it into a story of my own completely... or I might just leave it alone. Eh. I'm undecided.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh 5ds.**

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**Mistakes**

The shock had barely settled in when the full force of the Earthbound God's assault slammed into my chest. I felt rather than heard several ribs crack as my feet left the bridge. For a split second there was no pain, only sheer adrenaline pounding in my ears as my weightless body whirled away from the battlefield. Then the ground leapt up, crashing my senses down into its hard exterior along with the rest of me.

If I screamed I wasn't aware of it. All that existed for the first millisecond—such a long moment—was the pain of my chest and lungs. By some deep human instinct I rolled over onto and propped myself up by my elbows, protecting my injuries. So much pain—this was even worse that my duel with Kiryu... this was... this was...

... this was death.

The twins and Ushio were calling my name from somewhere incredibly far away (how far had the attack knocked me?) and Rudger was chuckling cruelly at my expense—as he always did. First Rally—no. First all of my friends from Satellite, then its citizens, then Martha, then Rally, then Bommer, and finally... Kiryu. All of these lives... all of my friends...

The hatred I felt scared me more than as the possibility that I was about to die. It haunted me as I struggled to return to my feet and fight. I knew if I allowed my hatred to empower me, it would be enough to force myself to get up. I also knew that if I allowed my hatred to break free of the chains I had carefully imprisoned it in that I wouldn't be able to pull it back until the fight was over—until one of us was dead.

It was the unknown that frightened me.

I knew what it had done to Kiryu and the other Dark Signers. But I didn't know what I would do while my hate ruled me. I didn't know if I could ever reel it back in. Even after the Dark Singers had been defeated once and for all, some part of me knew that my thirst for total victory over the Gods of Death would not end. And then how would I be any better than they were?

My love had to be enough then. My friends, my family, were counting on me. There had to be five Singers to claim victory over death. I refused to lose this fight.

"Yusei!"

Their voices were stronger now, ringing more clearly over my pain. For them. Not for revenge, not for death. I would fight for life—both mine and theirs.

I put more pressure on my arms, lifting myself up higher, and opened my eyes, surprised by the blurriness... and by their closeness. I had only been blasted back a few feet, and they were standing right in front of me. Why couldn't I hear them properly?

"You ok Yusei?" Rua asked, his voice trembling. Ruca was clinging tightly onto his arm, her birthmark shining bright red, both trapping and protecting them in its glow. Ushio took a hesitant step forward, knowing better than to step out of the light but also knowing enough to see that I was far from ok.

But I smiled at them anyway and forced my voice out, "Yeah."

Relief splashed across their small frightened faces, and guilt flared in my heart behind my strong mask. The truth was I didn't even know if I could get up.

But I have to try. I have to get up and fight to protect them. This was my duty as a Signer and as a friend.

I forced my arms to push me up when my vision settled a few moments later, stifling a scream when what I knew was a broken rib dug itself into something. The pain cut off my movements, and then there was something wrong.

I couldn't breathe.

I was literally drowning in pain. Any breath I took was useless, and there was something choking me. I coughed once to try and get it out, but one quickly multiplied into something beyond my control. My hand went up to my mouth, a trained manner taught by Martha, and I toppled over once more.

The ground was just as hard the second time.

More coughing. Every single movement sent more and more ribbons of pain throughout my ribs and punctured lung. I couldn't stop. There were hands tugging at me now, trying to lift me out from... from what? Underwater? More coughs more pain. Still can't breath.

My heart is pummeling against my chest, begging for release. My uninjured lung begs for air. Is this the end? Is this how I will die?

Their terrified faces swim across my vision in blurred waves of green, blue, pink, and gray. My focus shifts towards the spider-web of momentum trapping us, caught by its dark beauty. Was this the last thing my father saw before he died, I wonder? The radiance of momentum as it bore down on him?

My father, would I see him when this was over? Would I see my mother for the first time? Kiryu?

Suddenly the glow of momentum isn't beautiful anymore. Rudger used it to kill my parents. Rudger used it to create an explosion. Godwin used it to destroy Bommer's town. I will not use it to distract me from life. Death is not an option.

I will not let my friends down. I will fight.

So I did. I fought bitterly against the darkness filling my vision and mind. There is too much riding on this duel, on my life (such a strange thought) for me to die before I can finish my battle. I... won't... die... here...

My coughs increased still, become harsher and wetter. The air still wouldn't come, my chest felt as if it were about to explode, the darkness was still winning, but I continued to fight it, acutely aware of the presence of my friends.

And then, finally, relief. I tasted something metallic in my mouth and spat it out as quickly as I could, sucking in air before another fit can overtake me. Sweet, sweet air.

"Yusei!" Ruca shouts in my ear, her voice smaller than normal. I can sense the tears streaming down her face as my chest heaves and the coughing begins again. Rudger has fallen strangely silent, either that or I just can't hear him anymore.

Someone whispers a name I don't know, but it sounds vaguely familiar.

"Yusei, stay calm," Ushio murmurs to me, gently moving me upwards and tipping my head to the side. I try to move my hand over my mouth again, but he tugs it down softly. "None of that... just relax. Let it work itself out, kid. You'll be fine. I'm taking over this duel."

Surprise brings me a sharp gasp of air, enough to say as loudly as I could, "No!" I turned the full power of my gaze on him, just barely making out the scar on his left cheek and his bushy eyebrows. My chest rises and falls easier now, and my heart is slowly returning to its normal rhythm. But the pain is still too much. Unconsciousness beckons to me gently behind my eyelids, promising a relief from this pain, promising absolutely nothing.

And that sounds so wonderful. But I won't pass out. Not while another friend is putting their life on the line for me. I won't let that happen again—I'll never let that happen again.

"No," I repeated, softer this time. He ignored me, his hands already trying to remove my duel disk. Angry now, I threw my right hand over his and pinned them down with all of my remaining strength.

100 life points glowed under our fingertips.

"Yusei, you can't duel in your condition," Ushio said, looking me straight in the eyes. I could see his every emotion clearly through the haze. He wanted to do this. He wanted so very badly to save my life. Why? Hadn't he been trying to throw me in the detention center for this past week? Didn't he say he could never forgive me for getting him that scar?

Did he think finally think of me as a friend?

"No," I said as firmly as I could. "Not... again. I won't lose... another... person. Don't sacrifice yourself... for me."

"Who says I'll lose?" he asked, pulling his hands out from under my limp one. They blazed strangely in the light my mark gave. He tried to get at my duel disk again, but I was getting my second wind. My vision was clearing and the pain was subsiding slightly. My mark seemed to radiate even more light, but that was just probably because of Momentum's strange setting.

I wouldn't let him do this. He can't just give up his life to save mine, he can't win this duel! Only Singers can defeat the destined Dark Signers, and Ushio is as far from a Singer as anyone can be. He can't save me, no matter how much he wants to. Just like I couldn't save Kiryu in the end.

But... I can save him.

And, just like that, I sat up, disregarding Rua and Ruca's small hands remaining at my back. It hurt like hell, but I refused to show anything other than determination in my eyes. It wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. It was all I had left.

"Yusei," Rua and Ruca whispered together, their tiny grips tightening. But I couldn't look at them until I was sure that Ushio gave up his stupid plan. "Ushio..."

The Security Officer and I continued to stare each other down, his eyes full of pity and concern. Then, agonizingly slow, they shifted into understanding. Sighing, he broke eye contact to take up my gloved hand and show me the dark red stain across my palm. Blood.

But I already knew that.

"I don't care," I retorted, just as suddenly pushing myself up to my feet. I almost immediately blacked out right there and then, stumbling around, but Rua steadied me, the quickest of all three of them. His strength gave me the split second I needed to recover myself. Smiling weakly once more, I put my hand on his head and looked him straight in the eye. "I'll be fine."

The pain argued otherwise, and I knew, in the darkest part of my mind, that I would die no matter what the end result of this duel was.

I looked up at my enemy, letting the emotions I hid from my friends play through my eyes... my anger, my hate, my fear, my determination, and my confidence. I knew that I wouldn't be the only one to die today. And I wanted him to know it too, right here and right now.

"Yusei, stop this!" Ushio tried again, his hands hovering around my shoulders, trying to figure out how he could pull me away from my fated duel without physically hurting me. There was no way, and he knew that. I could tell from his eyes that he had seen people suffer like I was during his duties as an Officer.

"Get out of here," I replied, turning my back to all of them and painfully walking back into my place. "Take the twins, find Crow, and leave. It's only a matter of time before Momentum takes a negative spin. Go to safety."

"We won't leave you here Yusei!" Rua called loudly, dashing in front of me, in the middle of the dueling field, and planting his feet firmly.

Before I could gather the strength to reply, Rudger finally spoke. But what he said caught us all off guard.

"Dr. Fudo?"

Startled, I jerked my eyes to meet his. Even I couldn't hold back a gasp at the sight of his horrified face. The whites of his eyes were returning in strange alternations, in rhythm with the pulse of his consuming Spider Mark. His skin was unusually pale, and instead of clutching his right arm, he grabbed at his left as though it pained him terribly.

His guard was down. His face wasn't set in mocking laughter or cruelty. He was scared out of his mind—scared of me.

"B-but this cannot be!" he shouted suddenly, taking a long stride backwards, shaking his head violently. "You could not possibly... he couldn't possibly... How are you standing?!"

I didn't answer with words; I was much too confused for that. Looking at him over the top of my raised duel disk, I drew my next card slowly and carefully. Then I pointed to my heart with my left thumb, keeping the card I had just drawn in it. A strange gasping sound escaped his throat over my deliberate breathes.

"T-that's—!" he began, and then his anger returned to him rapidly, overtaking the rest of his sentence with a peculiar glare. "Yusei Fudo. This is your last turn, we both know it."

I didn't argue with him, he was right.

"Get on with it Rudger," I said calmly, the perfect illusion of health. Just by looking at me no one would know how badly I was hurt... if they ignored the trail of blood at the corners of my mouth that is.

"You will die, even if fate smiles down on you and you can defeat me," he clarified, seemingly trying to convince himself. "I've seen a wound very similar to yours before my own life ended... there was no way that your father could have recovered... even if I hadn't have... he still would have died."

"My old man?" I wondered, narrowing my eyes. He wasn't making any sense with all of his babbling. His eyes unfocused for a moment or two before returning to me. "What the hell happened between you, my father, and Godwin?!" I demanded.

"This is my gift to my colleague's son, my gift to him before death," he replied as if I hadn't spoken; a frown on his face where his grin usually was. "Because I want you to die suffering as I did!"

"What?!" I exclaimed. Rua turned around and glanced back at Rudger uncertainly, then shared a glance with his sister and Ushio behind me. I showed him the card I had drawn discreetly and his eyes widened before he grinned, thumping my duel disk, and shooed the others back to a safe distance away.

"The so called accident seventeen years ago—I am going to tell you what happened to your parents Yusei, so that you can die with the same pain and hatred I did! Who knows, maybe your mark will change sides as well!"

"As well...?" Ruca echoed.

There's no way... I thought quickly. Is he saying that he was...?

"Seventeen long years ago Rex, my younger brother, and I were Dr. Fudo's, your father's, assistants for the Momentum Project. In order to run things more efficiently, your father and mother moved to Satellite temporarily. Then, of course, Old Momentum began to take negative turns. Your father, Yusei, thought that these were signs of disaster and demanded that Old Momentum be stopped and reexamined," he paused and laughed, thrusting his left arm out in front of himself violently. "Of course, the sponsors would not listen to him at all! And thus, Dr. Fudo refused to continue his work as the lead researcher, and I was put in charge over my brother. Of course, your father was still on the project, he wouldn't just abandon his work when he believed that it would blow up in our faces."

My breath hitched for a moment, and I worried that another fit was about to find me, but it passed silently. Alright, I already knew all of this; Rudger himself had told me last time we dueled... when he used Rally and Rally sacrificed his life for "the hope of Satellite."

"He was a stubborn man," Rudger continued, chuckling fondly, "much like yourself Yusei, he didn't know when to give up and leave things be. With all of that knowledge, he didn't have one grain of common sense. His heart was the death of him..."—he paused, gaze reflected inward—"I had been independently working on the negative turns of Old Momentum for a week before it happened, before he discovered the cause of those turns. He shared his theory with Rex and I, for it was an assumption that had no credit in the scientific fields. He told us of the Singers and the Dark Singers. He told us of the legend of the Crimson Dragon and how Old Momentum may be breaking the seal on the Gods of Death. But he was telling me something I already knew, and something Rex suspected."

"So," he grinned looking me straight in the eye, "now that I had my theory confirmed by Dr. Fudo, I finally acted. That night, I 'worked late', pretending to find a more 'logical' problem with Old Momentum than a Star-worshiping cult. Mainly everyone had exited the building, so there would be very few casualties if it did explode."

"But what about you?!" Ushio interrupted suddenly, even more disturbed by the story than I was. "You'd be blown to pieces!"

Rudger grinned at him maniacally, "Don't tell me you haven't figured it out yet. Yusei has."

"Figured what out?" he demanded, taking a threatening step forward. Laughter met his challenge. I only half-heard their bantering after that, the room was spinning around in the glow of Momentum once more. I couldn't seem to focus on one point or keep my breathing even any longer. Everything hurt so much...

"Ah! But it seems that Yusei is fading fast, so kindly shut the hell up and listen," Rudger shouted, drawing my attention quickly. I stood up straighter, trying to project an image that said otherwise, that said I was recovering. I don't think I was very successful.

"Anyway, I stayed late that night, but I didn't know that Dr. Fudo and Rex were also staying. They had made a meeting behind my back. I found out later that Rex had set this up to pass on his knowledge from Ylister to the Doctor so that he could help us in our fight against the Dark Signers."

"Our?" Rua wondered, and I knew his eyes were wide in disbelief.

"Rex believed that Dr. Fudo's one-year-old son may contain the power of the Crimson Dragon, the hidden birthmark, and thus decided to tell him all of our secrets. But I had secrets of my own. I didn't care about this Crimson Dragon, and I don't believe that it is all-powerful. How can five people and one useless dragon conquer the Gods of Death themselves? It didn't seem possible, and we all know that history is written by the winners. So,"—he held both of his arms out in front of him, his eyes finally settling back into black; he was a monster again—"I decided to wage my own battle to see which side was truly stronger, light or darkness."

"It would be simple. I would initiate a negative rotation of Momentum—the power of the Dark Singers—and continue its conditions so that normal momentum—the power of the Signers—wouldn't automatically correct itself with the machinery. I created a condition so that the two energies could fight with each other until there was one victor, and that winner would be the force that powered Neo Domino City and Satellite. And if there was an explosion..."

He trailed off, obviously waiting for me to finish his sentence. But could it really be true? How could somebody be both at once...? Was this...? Could he really be...?

He got tired of waiting for me. "My own mark would protect me!"

The twins and Ushio gasped out loud completely caught off guard. Surprise was on my face as well—how could he be both a Signer and a Dark Singer?

"But as I was trying to initiate my experiment, your father and Rex walked in. Dr. Fudo realized what was going on before Rex did and he ran up to try and stop me. But I was so close to achieving my goal, to seeing which side was truly stronger," he enunciated, a strange light gleaming in his eyes, "that I couldn't let anything stand in my way. We fought for a while. There was a pole next to me that I had been using to adjust a few mechanics in the machine, and I swung it without any second thoughts. I crushed his rib cage, just as Uru did to your life points Yusei. But then again, do life points even really matter? Perhaps I'll discover the answer as a result of this duel!"

"You..." I couldn't find a word horrible enough to describe him. He had killed my father in cold blood. Before I had only thought that my father's death had been a consequence of the explosion... but no. Rudger had taken his life even before... the hatred was even stronger now, steadily wearing down the chains around it. I was so close to death anyway... what could it hurt to release it when I would go down...?

No. I promised myself I wouldn't do this.

But... he killed my father!

"By this point Rex had approached us and he carried Dr. Fudo off to the side and spoke with him. Your father gave Rex Stardust Dragon, Black Rose Dragon, and Red Demon Dragon to be used as seals against the power that I was about to unleash and told Rex to warn his wife and get to safety. The coward agreed and ran off instead of avenging your father, his close friend. He didn't even challenge me, his brother! Ha, he was always a weakling."

"But after I realized what I had done, I felt such a powerful sorrow and hatred for myself, for taking the life of my colleague and friend. I was such a fool. I did not appreciate the life that the Gods had handed me then; I didn't understand how they were guiding me onto the correct path, onto immortality and complete power! So as your father was coughing out his last breathes, still trying to convince me to stop, I was thinking of you, his one-year-old son, and his wife. I was thinking of the father and husband I had just stolen from the two of you. I was thinking of the life that had just been ruined to find one stupid answer. The first kill is always the hardest... In my horror, I readjusted the Old Momentum's machine once more, increasing the power dangerously. There was no hope for Dr. Fudo, and there was no hope for my coward of a brother either."

"So I gave the negative momentum as much power as I could and watched it clash with positive, willing it to explode, willing it to end our shared suffering. But it didn't explode for the longest time. The darkness fought against the light with surprising amounts of energy, nearly extinguishing it. Just when I thought I had found my answer (a small amount of comfort as well, perhaps Dr. Fudo would hate me enough for destroying his family that he would return as a Dark Signer, on the winning side) the light reared back and pushed it away. It was the thing I never expected, the two forces were equally matched. I barely processed this when the machine overheated and finally blew."

He paused in his narration, taking me in once more. Now it wasn't fatigue clouding my vision, but a steady red haze, anger and confusion blinding me as effectively as death would. "Godwin wasn't the weak one," I spat, hardly recognizing my own voice, "it was you. Only a coward would choose to end their life instead of facing their mistakes."

"Huh," he grunted. "That may be, but the explosion did not kill me. In my last moments I had forgotten about the wretched mark that I carried on my left arm. It did as I predicted, it protected me in a circular red dome, just as the girl's is doing now, and I watched in amazement as the negative momentum flooded over my right and the positive my left. It was such a hauntingly beautiful sight... but it did nothing to ease my own self-loathing. And thus, as Dr. Fudo died with his son's name on his lips, as my brother was caught in the wreckage and lost his arm, as your mother hurried towards the lab to try and help your father thanks to Rex's call, leaving you with Martha, I left."

"Fate has such a strange way of working out, doesn't it Yusei?" he laughed. I couldn't unclench my teeth long enough to dignify him with a response. "It was because I killed your parents that Martha took you in and you met Jack. And because of those bonds you made with him and Kiryu, you were able to unite both the Dark Signers and Singers. If you had not have gone after Jack and defeated him, he would have never fallen into the hands of the fifth Dark Signer, and she would not have died trying to help him. If you hadn't had turned in Kiryu, you wouldn't have spurred him into becoming his true self. So I thank you for helping me build my army Yusei!"

He's insane. 

"And fate led me, all those years ago, to Peru, the origin of the Nazca Lines. I came there still searching for the answer to my question, which side was stronger? I also went there to see if the destruction of your family was justifiable. I had done what I did in the name of the Crimson Dragon, to give it a chance to show me that my side was the strongest. But it had failed to gain victory and defeat. What did that mean? I had no idea. But while I in the middle of the desert, on top of the Spider Birthmark, calling my questions to the heavens and earth, I met someone who had the answers."

I barely cared who this someone was. But Rudger didn't notice, of course.

"He told me of the power of the Dark Signers, how there had to be five Signers to defeat them, no less, and then how death had still succeeded in vanquishing a dragon while it was defeated five thousand years ago. He told me many things about the Singers as well, and how weak they truly were. Five of them had to gather to summon their beast while each Dark Signer could individually summon their own God! I had my answer. Dr. Fudo's death was for nothing. The Singers had no true power, and I had sacrificed him in the Crimson Dragon's name."

"The hatred and pain I felt for myself was so overpowering that I couldn't take it anymore. That mark was the cause of all my pain and suffering, of the suffering of others, and I didn't want it. I expressed this all to the man, and he gave me a gift in return..."—a sick expression suddenly plastered across his face—"he gave me a knife and told me that he would be waiting on the other side."

"Oh my God," Rua whispered, her hand muffling her words. "He didn't—!"

"So I hacked away at my left arm, separating myself from the mark I hated, from life, and then, from death. It's a strange thing, hating your own mark so much that you're reborn to destroy it!"

"You're insane!" I hollered, disgusted and disturbed.

"No, Yusei! I am immortal! And when I defeat you and all your friends lay dead at my feet, my Gods will rule all, and I will command them as their King!" he howled with mirth, throwing his head back and spreading his arms out wide. Then I saw the metallic gleam where his left arm should be. It was metal.

"You're still the Fifth Signer?" Ushio asked tersely, confusion knitting his brow together.

"Yes and no," Rudger answered, "but enough talk. Make your last move Yusei! Show them how the power of the Signers wilts before Death!"

"I will never forgive you for what you've done Rudger!" I rebuked, angrily activating my card. "I will defeat you for all of the loved ones that you've taken from me! I won't stop until the world is safe from your insanity!"

And I meant every single word. He had destroyed too many innocent lives for me to hold back. I was going to take him down no matter what the personal costs are. My life is small if it means I can defeat the leader of the Dark Signers once and for all.

My death won't affect fate in any way—Rudger was right. The legends were lies. How could they be true when he, the Fifth Signer, is also the one destined to bear the Spider Mark?

I would duel him with everything I had left in me. I would destroy him with my hatred.

And that was the worst and last mistake I made in my life.

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**Eh... it turned out more like a long chapter ending on a cliffhanger... didn't it?**

**Oh well. Review, please, to tell me what you think.**

**AxJfan**


	2. Consequences

**Well... here I am. I've decided that I'm going to update this once a week before every new episode is aired. **

**So, to reiderate, I HAVE NOT watched the new episode yet, and I am dying to do it thanks to the cliff hanger it ended on. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh 5ds.**

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**Consequences**

Dark satisfaction surged through my veins as Rudger collapsed to his knees, life points extinguished. Stardust Dragon gave one final victory cry, spreading its wings wide over the debris of the defeated Earthbound God Uru, before it faded back into my deck. I couldn't help but let a small chuckle escape my lips, although it sounded more like a chocked gasp.

Now that my enemy was crumbling before my very eyes, the darkness I had unleashed began to retreat back within my mind, content—no, that's not the right word—_enthralled_ with his death. With only fifty life points left to my name, I had conquered death. I had finally wrecked vengeance on the man who had taken everything from me and my friends.

But now that hatred's thirst was quenched, the only thing keeping me fighting, my legs finally gave out and I tumbled to my knees.

Somehow, the ground seemed softer this time.

Perhaps it was because they would finally be returned... the people sacrificed in the mist... Nerve, Blitz, and Taka... Martha... would Rally...?

"Do not think this is the end!" Rudger called suddenly, staring up at me from his knees. I think he was smirking, even in his final moments, but my vision had left me during my final attack, leaving only his blurred gray outline in focus.

Whatever he had to say to me didn't matter, because now all there was left for me to do was die. But I refused to die before Rudger. Everyone had sacrificed too much because of him, and as much as this feeling frightened me, I wanted to see him suffer as he died.

But after that... what?

As he spoke, flecks of dust started to float away from his body, "Soon another ultimate God will be born!"

"What?!" I gasped, both from pain and shock. Another one? Would this madness never end?!

"Once all four switches are controlled, the King of the Underworld will be revived!" he reported, removing his duel disk and started to mess with his mechanical arm. At least, I thought that's what he was doing, it was difficult to tell past death's haze.

"The King of the Underworld you say?!" I shouted, trying to lift myself up but failing. Dread settled in the pit of my stomach. A foe even more powerful than Rudger, someone more dangerous...? And I wouldn't be around to help protect my friends...

No! Now, more than ever, I can't allow myself to die!

Rudger had a different idea, staring at me as if I was the main course, "Yusei! I won't allow you to leave this place!"

There was a sudden cascade of electricity from his arms and his eyes glowed violet for one last time. Just when I figured out what had happened—he had just destroyed his automatic arm—it exploded, ripping the bridge clean apart; scattering his ashes into the air and sending me tumbling into the light, one final scream ripped from my throat.

"YUSEI!!"

Déjà vu flashed through my strangely blank mind, the only difference between now and the last time they had shouted for me like that was Crow's added voice. Crow—who had just told me that the darkness I sheltered, the fact that my father and I had effectively destroyed everyone's lives, wasn't necessary, that he didn't blame me.

Did Jack feel the same way? Was Jack dueling his destined opponent now—the girl with the hummingbird mark? What about Aki? Could she be squaring off against Misty, unaware of the danger about to consume us all?

And those were my last thoughts before the light consumed me.

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**Jack POV**

"What the hell?!" I exclaimed as my mark suddenly reignited with a vengeance, sending pain throughout my entire body. My D-Wheel skidded to a rough halt as I tore away my sleeve and stared down at the intense red glow. Yusei. I could feel him again.

This was all his pain. But what was going on?! I had watched the Spider's Birthmark vanish myself (and I had to punish him for not waiting for us like we planned) so I knew he didn't lose the duel.

Why was he in so much pain? There was so much hatred... for both himself and Rudger. "Damn it Yusei, what've you gotten yourself into now?" I cursed to myself, rubbing my arm. Whatever it was, he'd get out. Of course, it was only natural that my rival would be so tough.

But the pain continued for the next agonizing minute, his feelings spinning around so fast that even I couldn't make sense of them, and then everything just came to a jarring stop.

There was absolutely Nothing.

No Yusei.

My mark faded once more, back to normal. But there was nothing ordinary about what had just happened. I stared down at my arm for another good thirty seconds before dismissing it promptly. Worrying does no one any good, and I knew Yusei better than anyone. He'd be fine.

Besides, I had my own important person to go save... Carley...

Without further thought I mounted my D-Wheel and took off once more, ignoring the wasteland around me as I made my way to her seal. But even I, the true King, was never fast enough to outrun the type of haunting question eating away at my mind.

_Was Yusei dead?_

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**Aki POV**

I sucked in my breath sharply, clutching the mark that had brought me to my new place. It burned with a pain that I had grown accustomed to—the pain of self-hatred and sorrow. And although I understood what kind of pain it was, and didn't understand why it was coming from Yusei, especially after his second duel was over. Why he challenged Rudger immediately after Kiryu I'll never know.

"Aki? Are you alright?" Mikage wondered, glancing away from the road and frowning at my mark. "Why is it glowing again? The Spider-Mark duel is over, isn't it?"

I bit my lip and turned towards where the mark had blazed in the sky a few seconds earlier. "I don't know what's going on. There's something wrong with Yusei... It feels like he's..."

My breath caught again, forbidding me from speaking my twisted thought. Just because it happened to Divine did not mean it would happen to Yusei. He was stronger than Divine, and he had so much more to fight for, to live for, than any of us here. He wouldn't...

Mikage watched me for a few moments, nearly causing an accident, but she swerved at the last second. Disaster was avoided for us. But for Yusei?

"Aki, I'm sure that Yusei is alright. A person who can defeat Atlas-sama in a duel can beat anyone in a duel," she smiled, removing her gaze from the road again. I nodded, keeping my uncertainty to myself.

"Thank you Mika—ah!"I shouted, pulling my head between my hands and pressing on my temples.

"Aki! What's wrong?!" she shouted, laying on the breaks a bit too hard. I jerked forward but didn't care when my safety belt nearly crushed my ribs in.

"It's Yusei! He just—! I can't feel him anymore!" I replied. "I could hear his scream in my head... something terrible has happened... I can feel it Mikage!"

Maybe it was because I was psychic, or a Signer, or maybe it was because Yusei had been the only one to open my heart's doors, but for some reason I was acutely aware of each of Yusei's thoughts before he die—vanished. He had called out strongly to us all with his feelings, his fear. But Yusei was never afraid!

"Aki..." Mikage whispered, tentatively reaching out her hand and laying it on my shoulder. I did nothing to stop her; I simply stared down at my gloves. My mark had stopped glowing. Yusei had stopped feeling. I began to shake despite my efforts to keep my head held high as Yusei had taught me.

My companion took a long deep breath from her mouth and let her fingers fall off my sleeve, turning to look towards the direction Jack was heading. "I understand your fear Aki," she began slowly and quietly, as she always was. I found reassurance in her soft voice, she sounded like my mother had when I was young; before the accident of course. "I understand because I'm afraid for Atlas-sama the same way you are afraid for Yusei. I don't have a mark, but I've always been aware of him... I could always tell what he was feeling, even when it scared me. I suppose living with a person will do that to you, huh?"

"Mikage..." I whispered, finally looking up and into her sad hazel eyes. She held my gaze for a few seconds before glancing away, biting her lip as I was.

"But recently... Atlas-sama has started to fade away from me as well... it's gotten to the point that I can hardly feel him anymore, and it scares me to think that the man that I hold so close to my heart—" she cut herself off, switching her gaze back to mine in one bold act. "I'm afraid of what will happen to him. I'm no Singer, so I can't just feel him when he duels that girl with the glasses. But I have so much faith in Atlas-sama, and I won't spite him by withdrawing my support just because I can't feel him anymore. Just as Yusei said Aki, although we are apart, our bonds keep us together through everything. And we can't doubt them Aki... that would be letting them down."

I could only repeat her name once more. Her words were so heartfelt and so true...

"Mikage, thank you. You're absolutely right: I cannot give up on Yusei."

Because giving up on him would be giving up on myself.

She smiled past the tears that were filling her eyes, touching my hand as a gesture of friendship. I managed to grin weakly past my own and squeezed it once.

"It's like he said," I murmured as she began to start the car once more, "All I have to do is win and we'll all meet up at the end."

Although I wondered if I was the only one who was concerned about what "end" Yusei meant.

* * *

**Third Person POV**

**Spider Mark Seal: Momentum**

They waited for thirty minutes, staring down into the abyss where Yusei had fallen. Crow had eventually made his way over to the other three and was staring silently down into the light, his heart in his throat. Ushio had one hand on each of the twins as they quietly sobbed to themselves, knowing that Yusei was gone.

But knowing and believing were to completely separate entities. And they had all the hope in the world that Yusei was alive, for Yusei was hope itself.

"Rudger said that his mark protected him from Momentum," Ushio said suddenly, keeping his voice surprisingly level. The three younger people looked away from the energy and towards him slowly, praying that he would explain it all away.

But the way his heavy brow was sagging and his eyes skirted from contact was not reassuring. "Yusei's mark should protect him as well. All we need to do is figure out how to shut it off and then go get him."

They could not help but glance at Ruca's right arm—devoid of any red glow. Ushio pressed on regardless, his voice only quivering slightly, "You, Crow, was it?"

"What?" he replied, returning his gaze downwards. His fists slowly clenched and unclenched, his body tense to its limit.

"You were poking around here while Yusei was dueling, did you find anything?" he asked, knowing that the answer was a no. The only one of them who could even grasp a basic concept of Momentum's complexity was Yusei, and he wasn't going to be able to help this time.

Crow paused for a moment or two, thinking over something, before reaching into his jack and pulling out a faded photo. He glanced at it and sighed, saying nothing, before passing it over to Ushio. Rua and Ruca squinted past their tears to see the blurred young family captured in time, transfixed.

"That man... he looks like..." Rua trailed off, wiping his eyes with his sleeves.

"Yusei," Crow finished, not meeting their gaze. "I found it in a room down there... I think its Yusei's folks... his family..."

They stared at it some more, taking small comfort and great pain at the similar face.

"Godwin was down there too," he added, as if he just remembered the fact. They looked up, too devastated to even pretend like they had interest in the man that had sent them here to their deaths. "He told me to tell Yusei to come talk to him if his brother was defeated... whatever the hell that means..."

"Rudger was Godwin's brother," Ruca whispered, clinging onto her brother as fresh tears poured down her tiny face.

"W-What?!" he exclaimed, abruptly sitting down, his head in his hands. "This is crazy... everything is just so—! Oh my God!" he finished, punching the wall behind him as hard as he could muster.

"Crow..." Rua muttered, turning back to the light. Because, in the end, it was all that they could do. No one wanted to be the one to break first, although tears were already falling and fists bleeding. No one wanted to be the one to remind them that just outside this prison was more death, more Dark Signers, and no Yusei.

So they waited, broken but still standing, for the miracle that they knew would never happen. For they all knew, in the end, hope was just hope. It wasn't concrete, it wasn't the miracle they were praying for; it was just the carrot dangling in front of their faces, urging them forward, even though there was no where left to go.

Hope had died.

* * *

**Yusei POV**

I was drifting.

It was cold.

There was Nothing.

So could I even ask where I was if I knew the answer? I was nowhere. I was no one. There was nothing.

What's going on?

I had known that I was going to die the second I took Uru's attack full force. I had accepted it even—as long as I took down Rudger with me. I had even thought fleetingly of what would happen after it claimed me, but I certainly hadn't imagined this.

Around me there was only a barren landscape connected to a blacker-than-black sky (if it was a sky at all). It was screaming silence at me, and I couldn't find my voice to break it. So I just kept walking, but it felt more like I was drifting since the ground was barely solid at all.

Every now and again my mark would burn against my skin, but it never once gave me any light to help me find my way. But that didn't matter. I'd press on regardless, even if I didn't know my destination.

My friends needed me, and I needed them. That was all there was too it.

And even though my chest still felt like it was going to implode on me at any given second, I kept moving my feet, even though the pain was so intense that a small part of me wished that I would just die already.

Another told me firmly that I was already dead.

But I ignored it for the most part in favor of drifting. I couldn't be dead because I could still feel, I could still think, and I could still move. My mark burned once more and I scratched at it, mildly annoyed. If it wanted to tell me something I wish it would just hurry up and let me know, my friends were bound to be worried about me. Who knows how long I've been here?

There was no time here. There was nothing.

Eventually the pain became too much and my body gave out, collapsing on the wavering ground below me. Agitated, I tried to breath steady, but started coughing again instead. But this time there was no one there to prop me up or try and motivate me. There was no one.

My vision, which had settled on my arrival, began to fade with my oxygen supply and excess amounts of blood. Every single cough brought pain sharper than the last racing across my chest and liquid out my mouth. My mind couldn't even muster up the right amount of energy to panic this time, maybe because I was already dead. Can't die a second time, right?

Kiryu did. Rudger did. Bommer Did.

Without even the energy to close my eyes, I watched as the silent landscape shifted around me, my dying choughs echoing off its far-away walls. The bleak sky seemed to expand, consuming the world around me in its hungry mouth, but that was probably just the darkness of Death claiming its victory over a Signer. My body managed to cough once more before it was spent, and I slowly felt my lungs fill with blood, unable to get rid of it, as the sky descended on me. Hungry. Anticipating.

Hallucinating (I must be, how can any sky literally fall?) that a black hand had emerged and was lifting me up like a delicate doll, I felt my consciousness begin to scatter, thoughts coming unwound. The pain was gone, it had left the second I was lifted, and I almost managed to smile despite everything.

I was going to see my family now, I was certain.

Aki and Jack were more than capable of defeating their stars of fate... the Signers would win the battle... but in the end, Death always had the last laugh. So I would see them again one day, as promised.

I had won, and now I simply needed to wait for the end.

The hand squeezed me, and I felt its touch on my very soul. Not right. Very wrong, very cold. A faint red light appeared in the mist around me, and there was a scream. Was it mine? I didn't know... I couldn't remember the sound of my own voice.

Then the hand came at me again (had it dropped me?), only to collide with the red light around me, protecting me. My mark. But I was still fading as it tried to crack open life's shield, and I wondered what the purpose of its protection was. I was already dying, what harm could anything do to me?

_"It's a strange thing, hating your own mark so much that you're reborn to destroy it!"_

Rudger's words suddenly echoed in my head, epiphany hitting me as hard as the hand was trying to.

That thing... was it trying to make me a Dark Signer?!

Cracks appeared in the barrier around me, weakened by the rush of hatred that came with Rudger's voice. Confused, tired, nearly dead, I flung myself away from thoughts of him and focused on my friends, focused on their light. But the damage had been done, and the darkness knew how to get to me.

_"Do not think this is the end!"_

His voice screamed at me from all sides. Desperate, I conjured up an image of Crow, Jack, Kiryu and I as kids, racing around Satellite together, comrades.

**He stole Kiryu from you Yusei.**

A new voice that shook me down to my core arrived; it was coming from within my mind. I could feel it prying at my heart. It felt wrong, so wrong. It hurt. Why wouldn't I just die already?! I can't become a Dark Signer—I won't fight against my friends!!

_"Soon another ultimate God will be born!"_

My thoughts connected weakly once more. He was talking about me. Rudger thought that I would... Rudger knew that this... but me the—?

_"—the King of the Underworld will be revived!"_

Was that who was attacking me?! The crack was spreading further in my shield, fury trying to spark a nerve in my head. Another memory. Rally giving me his card, my friends supporting me in the thick of battle, Aki and I watching the sunrise, Jack's unorthodox outlook on life, Rua's enthusiasm, Ruca's small smile, Martha—

**All taken from you. There will be no recovery if you just let yourself die. They were all brought together by you Yusei. They can't survive without you...**

_"Yusei! I won't allow you to leave this place!"_

Damn it. Die already! Come on! Damn it all!

The consequences of one stupid mistake, of letting my hatred get the better of me in my duel just once, all led up to this moment. The hand finally shattered my light, grabbing hold of me and twisting the darkness within me.

Air rushed back into my lungs, and I felt my near-still heart begin to beat again. No. No!

"Rudger is dead!" I shouted, my voice ringing strangely clear over this madness. "There isn't any reason why I should be a Dark Signer! I won't fight against the people I love!"

I could feel its touch, hyperaware of every nerve ending in my body as they begged for release.

Laughter.

**Yusei, who said anything about being a Dark Signer? That's not you're fate.**

"What?" I gasped, punching and kicking at the creature's hold on me now that I could. I would use the energy it was giving me to defeat it, I would fight until it was forced to kill me. It was my only hope.

**No, you've always been much more important than being a measly servant of death or life Yusei... You are destined to be their King! The King of the Underworld!**

My mark burned once more, sparked when my astonishment drove out any anger I held towards the dead Fifth Signer. "No!" I shouted firmly, smacking it with the kindling red and grinning in relief when it screamed and dropped me once more. But I didn't fall, I simply hovered there in the black, clutching my arm and thinking only of my friends.

But it wasn't enough. It slammed straight into my, invading my heart before I could even throw up defenses, and I simply hung there, stunned, dead and alive. Then I remembered them as the criminal marker on my cheek started to sting. I remembered my father, dying to try and save the city, my mother dying trying to help my father, Rally dying to save me, Rua putting his life on the line for his sister.

I found my light in death.

And just like that, Momentum's light suddenly reappeared around me, cutting the hand away from me, but it was unable to detach what had already embedded itself into my soul. I turned, holding onto the strong feelings with all my remaining life, and saw a man in standing in the light.

Perplexed, dead and alive, Signer and King, my grip on consciousness faded just in time for me to hear, "My son."

* * *

**Jack POV**

Was this Carley?

They certainly looked similar to one another: same face shape, same mouth, same hair, and the same figure. But this woman was so different from the girl I had grudgingly befriended during my recovery time.

For starters, this woman was handling a D-Wheel with superb skill while Carley couldn't drive her own two feet without crashing. This woman's eyes were filled with want while Carley's eyes were filled with hope.

"What's wrong Jack, surprised?" she taunted, pulling off her helmet and observing me idly where she had landed her D-Wheel. I found my voice.

"What happened to you Carley? Why did you become a Dark Signer?!"

She smirked at me, another difference, Carley only smiled, "I was killed by Divine. I went into the Arcadia Movement to try and dig up some information on everything that was going on since you wouldn't give it to me. I couldn't stand to lose my ties with you."

"What?!"

It was all I could manage to say. How could she say all this with such a cool and indifferent tone? Had she gone mad as Kiryu had?!

"We don't have to fight Carley! I don't want to hurt you!"

She grinned at me once more, none of the sadness I had seen in her present now. "Yes we do Jack; our duel is fate's way of ensuring us eternal happiness."

I stared at her blankly. Yes, she had gone completely insane. "Care to explain?"

"Duel you for it," she replied, activating her D-Wheel. I had no choice but to follow suit and hope for a miracle. But hope was more Yusei's thing. I preferred action.

Her mark appeared for the second time, the hummingbird, paving way for our riding duel. With one quick glance at her, I raced off, keeping behind her in case she should fall. I couldn't believe that this was Carley on the surface, but deep within her she was still alive.

"I will save you Carley!" I shouted. "I'll make you see reason once more!"

"I've never seen anything more clearly my beloved Jack!" she replied, drawing her first card.

The duel progressed, and I saw for the first time that she played her Fortune Lady deck still. Every card was predicting my downfall, she would exclaim happily, as if she wanted nothing more than to see me dead. But then again, was that why she was a Dark Signer in the first place? Did she hate me for unintentionally being the cause of her death?

I finally got my answer through one of her damned Fortune cards.

"Let's see what she can predict for us Jack!" Carley declared suddenly, calling on her monster. "Let's see if her vision matches what I was told by my God, Jack!"

"Your God?" I questioned. Things just kept getting stranger and stranger. I couldn't follow her anymore.

Her glasses were a light weight inside my jack, but their memory felt so heavy now.

"Yes Jack! Before You arrived I didn't understand what a great destiny the Underworld had planned for me; I thought I was being cursed because I had to fight you! But he showed me that by defeating you we could be together forever!"

"You're not making any sense woman!" I shouted, my short fuse finally blown. "How can we possibly 'be together' when the loser of this duel will die?!"

Her grin only grew, the want in her eyes twisting my heart even further. "Just watch the vision my Fortune Lady has for us."

Frustrated, I turned my attention towards the portal of light her monster conjured up, feeling as if it sucked me into it.

I wasn't aware of closing my eyes, but suddenly it was very dark and I was on something very soft, without the feeling of my warm blood falling down my face. Confused, I opened my eyelids and looked around an incredibly regal room, even grander than my home as King of Dueling. Carley was sitting next of me on a jet black couch, her smile wide and beautiful, with her eyes blue and black. Strangely, it didn't bother me anymore.

And I wasn't wearing white anymore; my clothes were black and orange, just like hers. That wasn't a problem either. "You finally woke up," she smiled, touching my cheek with her soothingly cool hand.

"What happened?" I wondered, although I didn't really feel alarmed or uncomfortable.

"Don't you remember?"

I was about to say no when it came back to me. _Carley's trap sent my life points plummeting to zero, and I fell to the earth, Carley approaching me, hips swaying._

_"My precious Jack," she murmured, lifting me up and holding me close. "Now we can spend eternity together my love."_

_Her lips met my own, and I felt a beautiful darkness engulf my soul._

"I remember," I replied stoically, stroking her hair in return. She smiled and led me to a window. I gazed in mixed horror and admiration at the destruction beyond the window, at the purple fire raging across the land, at the people all turning and bowing to my presence, and most of all at the four enslaved dragons of the Signers. My own soul, Black Demon Dragon, soared above them all, slowly destroying the wills of the opposing creatures, killing them.

"My King," she purred. "Look around Jack, this is all ours. For all eternity we will rule over the earth together, King and Queen. In love forever..."

"Yes... King of the Universe... Hahahaha!" I laughed, throwing back my head, power rushing through my veins. Carley took my hand and gripped it tightly, chuckling by my side. There was no downside to being a Dark Signer; it was the Signers that had everything wrong! Carley was right; this was fate's way of allowing us both a second chance, a shot at true happiness!

I leaned forward and felt something slip from my pocket. Annoyed, I looked down and felt sanity come crashing back into me. Carley's broken glasses. Reality.

Abruptly I was back, sitting stationary on my D-Wheel, still staring down at those obnoxious glasses. Carley had fallen strangely silent as well, her eyes glued to them.

"You... you kept them?" she whispered, sounding as sane as she had been before she had died. I sighed and looked up at her, then jumped as I saw Yusei nodding at me just to her right. But when I blinked he was gone, and I was left, shaken, on my white D-Wheel with a confused Carley.

What the hell was going on here?!

* * *

**Third Person POV**

**Spider Mark Seal: Momentum**

In the end, none of them had to break. Momentum did it for them.

* * *

**Alright, now I really want to go watch the actual episode. What really happens to Yusei?! (insert freakish fan-girl scream)**

**Thanks for reading and please review to tell me what you think.**

**AxJfan**


	3. Silence

**Oh my gosh. I haven't had internet connection since Wednesday morning. So I haven't been able to upload anything or comment anywhere or watch the FREAKING EPISODE!! Wahh! So I'm really angry about that and I'm really sorry that you all had to wait for this too.**

**But now I've only got Monday, Tuesday, and part of Wednesday to write the next chapter, and that one is bound to have Aki/Yusei/Divine based on Janime's previews for it...**

**Oh, and heads up, Carley/Jack moments dead ahead.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh 5ds**

* * *

**Silence**

**Third Person POV**

**Spider Mark Seal**

It was finally happening. Momentum was taking the negative turn. At first they could only stare down at the coiling darkness in awe, captured by its deadly beauty, as it slowly extinguished the light around it. Only when it started to climb the walls towards them did they realize their lives were in danger.

"We've got to get out of here!" Ushio exclaimed, dragging the twins away from the edge. Their wide eyes were staring, transfixed, at the last tiny spot of light trapped in darkness' whirlpool. "Come on!"

Crow nodded, ignoring the sorrow tearing at his already blackened heart. If Yusei hadn't been dead while Momentum was normal, he was now. He took the little boy's arm—Rua, that's his name—and pulled him away with the Security Officer that Yusei had somehow befriended.

"Pretty," the girl whispered as Ushio urged her forward. "Rua—that light in the center of the darkness..."

"Its like Rudger said," Ushio sounded suddenly, picking up his pace. "This is what happened before the Zero Reverse Accident, don't you understand?! The negative Momentum is attacking normal Momentum; soon this entire place will explode!"

"Again?!" Crow shouted, twisting his head around to gape at the speaker, his legs nearly tripping as they raced up the long staircase.

"It's a possibility!" he replied, finally just picking up Ruca in his arms and running quicker. Sweat ran down his brow as the glow of Momentum faded even further, its light sucked dry by the evil.

"But Yusei—!" Rua began, slowing down to get one last glimpse of the battle of wills.

"He'll be fine!" Crow shouted, lying blatantly. "And imagine how mad he'll be if he finds out that we all died because we hung behind instead of pressing forward!"

"Yikes," Rua muttered, running ahead of them all, glancing back once or twice to check on his sister. The bleak light of Satellite reached out towards them at the top of the stairs, growing larger with each passing second.

But so was Momentum's reach.

The stairway beneath their feet began to shake as the negative light touched its support beams, weakening them with its immense power. Ushio stumbled slightly, but caught his balance before both he and Ruca could fall. Her little hands tightened around his shoulders, her hair swayed in his face.

And her mark finally ignited just as they all broke into daylight.

She turned back just in time to see the light rocket back into the fight, pushing away its dark counterpart. "Guys!" she screamed, clutching her arms around Ushio's neck. "Something's happening! I can feel Yusei's spirits—they're in pain and he's—!"

"Not that duel spirit crap again!" Ushio tossed her into the truck as lightly as he could before quickly revving the engine as Crow mounted Blackbird and took the lead. The ground beneath their feet was beginning to leak light and fall away, chunks devoured by Momentum.

"Shit!" Crow shouted, maneuvering his D-Wheel around a crack in the earth.

"Go!" Rua shouted, holding his sister close, trying his best to protect her. But if another Zero Reverse really did happen, there was nothing he could do to save her—or anyone else left in Satellite for that matter.

Ushio complied and they shot off after Crow, unsure of their destination but praying to be anywhere but here. Although it was stupid, not one of them was focused on the road in front of them, but staring behind them in the rearview mirror. The twins were completely twisted around in their seats, tears dry on their faces.

The manor behind the battleground suddenly exploded, shaking the very earth below them, its heat uncomfortable on their faces. Now it was raining metal and dust, blocking their view of the pit and endangering their lives.

"Yusei!" Ruca shouted, clutching her arm even tighter. "I can feel him! He's fighting the darkness! He's calling to us! _He's the light!_"

"I told you he'd be fine," Ushio answered a second too soon. For immediately following his words, Momentum exploded in one dazzling display of light, dematerializing anything and everything it touched instantly. They screamed, shielding their eyes from it, and prepared themselves to be the first deaths of the second tragedy.

But death did not come for them.

When they dared to glance back, they stomped on their brakes and regrouped, staring up at the spectacle before them. Crow held his helmet between his hands loosely, unaware that he had even taken it off.

"W-What does this mean?" he asked, eyes tinged red in its glow.

Before them was a dome of pure red light, the mark of the Crimson Dragon circling its parameters, trapping Momentum's wrath within its barriers as it continued to spiral out of control. Above it, shining brightly against the gray clouds was the Tail Mark, grinning down at them all.

Yusei's mark.

"This is the seal of the Spider Mark," Ruca answered suddenly, staring up at the sky. "This is Yusei's gift to Satellite."

No one dared to disagree as the mark in the sky faded into oblivion.

* * *

**Yusei POV**

I was dreaming. Either that or I had finally died—I wasn't sure which it was. I remembered the light taking me and speaking to me, but didn't know what to make of it. I didn't understand anything that was happening at all.

Like, for starters, why I was standing on a cloud and watching Jack duel the girl with the hummingbird mark. Or why Jack was dueling like he was—the really had me stumped. His words were as forceful as ever, but his actions were soft and reluctant.

Thus, this Carley girl was wiping the floor with him. He was already down to only 800 life points and without Red Demon Dragon. What was going through his head?

Then Carley played one of her Fortune-based traps and things suddenly became even stranger. Both duelists completely zoned out the second their eyes hit the trap's light, staring at the vision as if it was the greatest thing either of them had ever seen.

Concerned and mildly curious, I willed myself down next to the Dark Signer and glimpsed into this supposed "future". A small gasp escaped my silent lips, my mind unable to comprehend the dark glory fate had promised Carley. She and Jack stood tall over raging purple fire and an enslaved human race, hands intertwined and hummingbird birthmarks glowing. Our dragons—the dragons of the Signers—struggled in chains of fire, slowly being incinerated by a Black Demon Dragon. And Jack—Jack was holding her hand and cackling at his friends' suffering!

Mouth agape, I turned back to the true Jack only to see his purple eyes filled with desire. He was actually _enjoying_ what he was seeing!

Disappointment was a bitter taste on my tongue.

But I couldn't doubt Jack; my heart wouldn't let me believe he'd make the same mistake twice. It told me firmly that Jack was not an idiot and that he learned from his errors. He knew it was wrong to betray a friend. He wouldn't betray me a second time. He just needed a small reminder of what he already had.

"Jack," I called softly, taking a step forward. He leaned towards me as if he had heard my surprisingly quiet voice and a pair of broken glasses tumbled from his coat's inner pocket. Startled, his gaze dropped, and just like that, the want in his eyes vanished. He stared at them for a few seconds longer, breaking the vision's trance.

"You... you kept them," Carley whispered, completely unaware of my presence. All of her focus was on the glasses. Her eyes were remarkably clearer than they had been a few minutes earlier, and I finally understood what was happening here. Jack was saving her.

I returned my attention to him as he looked up and nodded, proud. He started and blinked, but by the time he opened his eyes, I was gone.

* * *

**Aki POV**

I spared a quick glance up at the hummingbird lit brightly in the sky for Mikage. I could tell by her tight brow and hard grip on the steering wheel that she was using all of her remaining willpower to keep driving away from him; away from the man she loved. Her eyes kept straying to her rearview mirror, which she had adjusted the moment the mark appeared to reflect the sky.

It stuck out at an awkward angle, nearly broken at its hinges. I touched my mark empathetically. Her pain and fears mimicked my own. The birthmark that brought me both sorrow and joy was finally allowing me to reach for Yusei, only to find that he wasn't there.

The silence between all of our bonds was unbearable. For the first time in what felt like eternity I longed for my mask, for Divine, for the bliss—the ignorance—of letting another live my life for me...

...the beauties of an empty soul hiding beneath a thin wall of plaster and paint. These feelings Yusei had shown me were a dark joy in Satellite's smog, a tiny light being rapidly swallowed by its own shadows.

I couldn't take it anymore and neither could she.

"Please tell me he's alright," we harmonized, our hopes and wishes scattering into the stale wind.

Without even having to share a glance, we began to rinse ourselves of this darkness.

"Never stop fighting, no matter what you feel for her."

"Don't leave us alone, continue to be our light."

"Bring her a battle of glory and power. Defeat her. I trust you, _I know you too_."

"I won't lose faith in you until you're dead at my feet. Even then I won't believe it."

"You're not alone, you've never been alone. This girl may have shown you things, but she's only shown you what you already were. Don't lose yourself. Hear my support."

"Share my light when yours has extinguished."

"Don't lose."

"Don't die."

Our voices fell silent as the ground trembled. Did it shake at the power of our faith, love, and hope? Were the Gods of the Underworld quaking in fear of our powerful bonds with one another?

We both almost shared a smile, but continued to share our sorrows instead.

_"Come back to me."_

A faint red glow in the horizon promised us he would.

* * *

**Jack POV**

Yusei?!

I continued to gape blankly at the empty space besides Carley. He had been standing there. I was sure of it. But how could he have been?! Did that mean—? Could he really be...?

No.

Of course not. Like I said before, Yusei was strong; he had to be to defeat me. He would not die on us before the war was over.

Satisfied with my own conclusion, I returned my entire focus on the woman before me, staring at her glasses with eyes magnificently clear.

"J-Jack," she stuttered, redirecting her gaze. Her hand touched the skin just below her eyes in disbelief. "B-but how? When I fell..."

I bent down and retrieved them, holding them as gently as my rough hands could. "I found these in the Arcadia building," I informed her loudly. "I thought that you had been sacrificed for the Earthbound God... that's why I wanted so badly to defeat the Dark Signers... to save you Carley!"

"Jack," she repeated, taking her head in her hands, helmet and all. "No, this isn't what's supposed to happen. You and I are going to spend eternity together after I win this duel... Why are you rejecting our happiness Jack?! Why are you fighting the inevitable?!"

"Carley!" I shouted back, tucking her glasses back into their safe place. "How can you believe those words? You are the one who showed me what was real; you were the one who told me that only I could decide my own destiny! You are my important person Carley! So how can you not see a lie when it's staring right in your face?!"

She shook her head again violently. "No! Jack, you're the one that's wrong! Our fate is to be together forever, why would I have been revived otherwise?! I don't hate you Jack! I never hated you! This is our destiny—it has to be!"

I looked over her as her shoulder shook, silent sobs echoing over the wasteland. She did have a point. Why would she become a Dark Signer if she didn't hate me? Why did this happen to her?

A strange answer came to my lips. "Perhaps..." I trailed off, unsure of how to say this. I wasn't the philosophical type. My statements were blunt and sure. This was not my forte in any regard. But for her I had to try. "Carley... you may not have hated me... but... love and hate two sides of a coin, are they not? Just as life and death they are tied together, they must coexist in order to be felt at all..."

She had become strangely still, staring at me with her black and blue eyes. Damn it, I knew that this mumbo-jumbo didn't really work. Or maybe I'm just screwing it up. Damn it.

I tried again, "Perhaps it was all of this love you have for me... perhaps it was your vast _potential_ to hate me that drove the Gods of Death to revive your soul."

"Potential to hate you?" she repeated, obviously confused. Well, that was enough words then.

I will save her through my actions.

"But regardless of its reasons Carley, it is still your choice! Only you control your destiny. You have been given another shot to walk the earth, and you must make of it what you truly want! Not what your so called God wants Carley! And I will show you your path once more, as you showed me mine! Now are you going to sit there and stare at me or are you going to duel?!" I finished, revving my engine for emphasis.

For a moment I thought that my speech had reached her. She hesitated to respond to my challenge, her hands hovering undecidedly over the handle bars of her D-Wheel. But then the woman impersonating Carley was back, hands at the wheel of a controlled destiny.

"Bring it on Jack! I will fight to show you the beautiful hell that we will rule over! I will be the one that saves you!" she responded, turning around her D-Wheel and taking the lead once more.

Frustrated, I chased after her. Always chasing, never catching, never leading. At least this was still the same about Carley; I couldn't keep up with her. But that stupid mark had hold of her sanity once more, and her Fortune cards continued to predict my downfall with each new turn that passed.

I wiped at the blood running down my face to clear my vision, more irritated than in pain. Head wounds bleed; I'd learned that from my duel with Yusei in the Fortune Cup. The duel that led me to meet Carley in the first place. It was a strange thing; back then she had been the one to make sure I had new bandages and kept my wounds clean, and here she was now, inflicting the damage.

And I had to retaliate back.

And it hurt more than it should have. I knew that I was fighting the enemy, not Carley. I knew that in order to save her that I must defeat her. I knew that if I lost, well, that was it. She would try and make me into a Dark Signer, but I was prepared now. I had seen the future, and I would not allow that disaster to come true. If by some mistake I, Ex-King of Riding Duels, The Jack Atlas, should lose to a woman impersonating a dear friend, then my last breath would be on the battlefield.

And I would not rise from my death in combat. I would make sure of it.

But I didn't need to worry about all of this. I wouldn't lose a duel to her. Only Yusei Fudo could defeat me in a duel, no one else. And I wasn't about to shatter my near-perfect record.

"Carley!" I called to her finally, my life points standing resolute. She grinned at me as I pulled up along her side, her monster shifting positions so she could see me. I had a card hidden on my field, facedown and floating beside me. My fiery red soul was within my hand, just waiting for me to unleash it onto the field.

This one trap would decide my fate—no, not just my fate any longer. It would decide hers as well. And this is why...

This is how I will reach into her and pry open her heart's doors.

"Have you finally decided to stop this foolishness Jack?"

"No! Never!" I swore, pulling out her glasses once more. Just as before, her attention was caught by their significance.

"Carley, listen to my voice! Hear me from wherever it is you are! I've kept these glasses ever since the day the Hummingbird Mark burned down the Arcadia Movement. I've stared into them each night since then, worrying about you, wondering if you were alright, desperate to know where you are. You made me feel something about someone that I've never felt before, I cared for you Carley! You are the person who is most important to me now! This duel is not to put forward the Signers and their beliefs or for Godwin and his plots! This duel is to bring you back to life—to bring you back to me! You're the person that I truly love!"**(1)**

A gasp. She shook her head again, violently and confused. Touched and frightened. "No! This duel, it's for us! You're the one who needs to be brought to life!" She closed her eyes tightly, as if she were trying to blot out the entire world. But I wouldn't let her escape that easily.

This was my mission, and I had never stopped before until I had victory in my hands. Why stop now?

It was Victory or Death.

"Shut up! I'm tired of your excuses Carley! We both know that you've been fed lies! You don't need to defeat me to have a future with me Carley! We're together at this very moment and I'm calling out to you with everything I have! We were always going to be close to each other Carley, you are my friend!"

As much as it makes me feel like Yusei to say it.

"Now you want destiny Carley?! I'll give it to you!" I shouted, pointing my Signer-marked arm and her glasses towards the trap card. The light it gave off seemed even brighter than normal, fueled by my desperate need to protect the bond that I had made. To protect my friend who, strangely enough, meant more to me than my own life.

Well I'll be damned. I'm turning into Yusei.

I pressed on regardless. "These glasses are a symbol of the woman you used to be Carley, the person you still are! Look deep within yourself and see if this is what you truly want!"

"Jack?"

"Carley!" I continued, feeling my heart begin to flutter anxiously, aware that this might be the last turn it beats. But I wouldn't back down. I'd stand proud until the bitter end. "I'm leaving both of our destinies in your hands! I'm proving to you that your so called fate has never been in the hands of Death! I have a trap card on my side of the field Carley, and it will help me save you! But the decision to use it is in your hands! I will only use it if you want me too! Now choose the correct path Carley, rise above the lies!"

My hand extended towards her as if I could physically touch her, the glasses reflecting the purple fire eerily. She stared at me, stunned and confused, as I finished my last statement, "Come back to me Carley! I have faith in you like you did in me!"

"Jack!" she shouted, jerking her eyes away from mine and hiding them behind her eyelids. "What are you saying?! Are you giving into fate?! What do you want me to do?!"

"I want you to do what you truly believe is right!"

She looked back at me, eyes full of conflicting emotions. She was in so much pain, and it was my fault. I couldn't understand the pain it brought me to know this. But I could ignore it and focus on getting us both out of the mess we had made together. It, really, was all I could do.

Then, miraculously, her eyes cleared. She became herself once more. "Oh Jack," she whispered, tears beginning to leak down her face. "I'm so sorry! I can't believe that I would... all that blood... are you alright?"

"Of course. This is just a scratch, who do you think I am?" I replied, eyes hard. "It's about time you came back woman."

Soft expressions covered her face as the wind continued to whip her hair under her helmet. Her hands tightened on the steering handles and she took a deep breath, as if she feared it would be her last. "Jack... just so you know... I love you. Use your trap. Defeat me. Save your friends, save the world, and most importantly, save yourself."

"I'll save you too."

"You can't save me Jack," she answered, eyes straying towards a card in her hand. Her fingers twitched as if she wanted to activate it, and I saw the flicker of insanity hiding in her mind. But she was fighting, strong as I knew she was.

"There is nothing I cannot do," I replied evenly, slowing down to maintain eye contact with her before she slipped away from me again. "There's nothing stopping us from just shutting off our D-Wheels and walking away like this never happened. You've beat her Carley, you don't have to fight me any longer."

"A true duelist never walks away from any duel," she replied, liquid falling faster, soaking her shirt.

"Screw that," I rebuked. "This was never a duel. It was much more than that Carley and you know it."

"I do," she agreed, looking up at me and smiling through her tears. So much pain in that look. "And that's why this can't be stopped Jack. You don't understand what it's like to be a Dark Signer. I can't just walk away from it. I'm dead Jack. Dead is dead. There's no coming back."

"Carley..."

We fell into silence, staring into each others eyes, oblivious to the track as we wound through it on autopilot. Her hand was closer to the card, the Earthbound God that had appeared in Neo Domino. The entity that held all of her insanity bundled up neatly in one conveniently easy to destroy package.

"You're right, I don't understand," I finally spoke, eyeing my own ace card. "But that doesn't matter now. You're breathing. Your heart is beating. I can see your soul through your eyes Carley. And I'll be damned if that means you're not alive."

"I can't Jack!" she yelled, tearing her gaze away. The mark on her arm began to glow even brighter, consuming her mind in its power.

"Carley! Fight it!" I demanded, nearly crushing her glasses in my grip.

"Save yourself! Use that trap!" she yelled back, swerving away from me as the triangle below her left eye morphed in the tainted light. She opened her eyes, revealing the control of the Earthbound God instead of herself.

Carley was gone.

But even if it meant that I had to die, I would find a way to save her.

* * *

**Yusei POV**

I opened my eyes, strangely content. There was no pain anymore, and I couldn't feel the King's horrible touch in my soul. I was dimly aware of my mark kindling on my arm, but didn't bother to look at it. My attention was caught by the figure in front of me, blocked by the great light of Momentum.

"Why did you save me?" I asked, unable to summon enough energy to shout.

The silence I received in response was still soothing, and I couldn't muster up any concern. There was just... bliss. A happy nothingness that left me unable to do much of anything. The faint beating of my heart reminded me that there was something I needed to do; something important, but I couldn't remember what it was.

The glow dimmed, attracting my waning attention. My eyes watched the light, enraptured, feeling something within it tug at my mind. It continued to call to me, growing louder and more desperate.

Eventually I found the urge to walk forward and began to do so, fixated on the brilliant glow in front of me. But now that I could approach it, it shrank away from my presence, revealing the ravenous shadows behind me. Unbothered, I followed it, pulled by a force I couldn't understand.

But I didn't really mind either. It was only until I encountered a barrier between me and the light that I remembered myself. It had stopped in the center of a calm, dark river and simply watched me. As my eyes were searching for stepping stones that weren't there, something clicked in my mind.

I was dead.

And this was... could this be? The River Styx from Greek Mythology **(2)**? From the children's books Martha sometimes read to Jack, Crow, and I when we were younger?

Martha. Crow. Jack.

They are my friends, my important people, and they are waiting for me to return. And I knew who I was, had been, and wanted to be once more. The light began to retreat again, and something within me snapped; my tough exterior, my own mask.

"Wait!" I called out, taking a step into the water. It was surprisingly shallow for its darkness, and I found myself beginning to run through it towards him, the light. "Wait! Father!"

As if he had been waiting for me to acknowledge him, the light dimmed until I could see his form in the Underworld, giving off Momentum's deadly light. He smiled thinly, a fleeting light in the shadows.

"Yusei... my son."

"I..." I couldn't find the words. There were so many things I felt, so many things I needed to say. It was just so overwhelming, feeling all my heart come undone after I had locked it down for so long because of one smile. I didn't know what to say anymore. I could only stare at him as I raced towards him, my throat constricted with tears.

"It's too soon for you to be here," he repeated, still floating away from me.

"Father! Please wait!" I cried, sprinting as quickly as I could. I didn't get any closer.

"I'm sorry Yusei," he said softly, and I shook my head, a few tears flung into the abyss behind me. "My experiments have given you such a hard fate to bear..."

I tried to say no, that it wasn't true, that I didn't blame him for anything, but only managed a choked gasp. The heart beating strangely in my chest began to drown in anguish. "Father!"

I could see the other side of the river now, where he had finally stopped. My breath was ragged and unsteady, lungs confused after not breathing for a while.

"Your fight isn't over yet, my son," he smiled. So close. I was almost there! "You have to return back to your friends, they need you. They're waiting for your return. Go back to them Yusei, continue to be their light... and let me be yours."

My feet touched solid ground and I flung myself at him, catching him in one vulnerable hug. I shook as I felt life's light take me away from him once more, and he held me, brushing my hair.

"I love you, my son."

"Father!" I shouted out for one last time, torn from his arms. The last thing I saw was his smile before a different kind of darkness consumed me, and I knew I was no longer gone.

The silence said so much.

* * *

**Third Person POV**

**Spider-Mark Seal**

They watched in silence as the red dome slowly shrank, forcing both sides of the awakened Momentum away from Satellite. Tentatively, Crow inched Blackbird forward, keeping a wary eye on the abyss. The others followed him just as carefully, Ushio barely pressing down on the gas and keeping his other foot just over the brakes.

"Is it over?" Rua asked his sister, who was staring into her mark as if perplexed. She looked up at him, then over to the Hummingbird Mark in the sky, and finally at the still receding dome.

"No."

They all took her answer seriously and stopped advancing, settling for watching Yusei's final miracle. But none of them had expected this to happen.

The three battling forces had finally met at the lip of the pit, and they grew smaller still, forming a shape of light and darkness before their eyes.

"Yusei!" Crow gasped, the first to speak. He rushed forward without waiting for the others, only stopping at the collapsed staircase. "Yusei!"

The rest followed hurriedly, braking sharply and then exiting the vehicle at a run. "Yusei!" their combined voice called to the figure floating lifeless, trapped in Momentum.

"YUSEI!"

If they had looked down they would have noticed that Momentum had returned to normal, that the light trapping their friend was not harming him, but keeping him alive and well. But they only had eyes for the person that they still feared they would lose.

"YUSEI!"

Gently, softly, his body floated towards them as they continued to cry out for him, stopping in all of their outstretched arms. He was so still, and looked so fragile with the blood still staining his lips.

"Is he breathing?" Ushio demanded, trying to disregard how impossible all of this was and failing miserably.

Crow checked his pulse and leaned his ear over Yusei's face, concentrating. Relief spread across his hard face, and he shouted out in joy. "He's alright! He's got a strong pulse! His breathing's a bit shaky, but I think he'll be fine!"

A collective sigh shook away all of their fears, restoring their hope now that it was held in their hands. Ushio leaned forward, gently setting down the Signer to check on his injuries.

"Crow, help me with his shirt. I want to make sure that his ribs are alright," he ordered, trying not to cause any more damage as he tugged Yusei's jacket off.

"Hold on a sec," he replied, leaning over and shaking Yusei's shoulders slightly. "Hey Yusei, get a hold of yourself. Yusei!"

Ruca wiggled through them and wiped the stain off his lips with her sleeve. "Wake up Yusei," she whispered as she worked, worried that he wouldn't open his eyes.

"Hey! Cut that out punk!" Ushio demanded, taking Crow's hands away from Yusei's shoulders. "You saw how messed up he was before he fell, shaking him will only make things worse."

"Naw," Rua disagreed, coming on the opposite side of his sister to stare at Yusei's birthmark, which wasn't lit. He studied it in confusion for a few seconds before tugging down the collar of Yusei's shirt and showed them a completely un-bruised chest. "See! He's fine now!"

"W-What?! How is that even possible?!" Ushio shouted, taking his head in his hands.

"Are you going to faint again?" Ruca wondered, finishing with her job and looking at the oldest man in the group. He continued to gape at Yusei and shake his head rapidly.

Rua rolled his eyes and folded his small arms around his chest. "Geez! Just like I said before, this is why adults are no good!"

"Yusei," Crow repeated, frowning. He didn't start shaking his friend again though, Ushio may have a point. "Hey, why isn't his mark lighting up?"

They fell silent again, sharing confusion.

"Eh, who cares?" Rua finally voiced, shrugging. "All that matters is that Yusei's back! Hey Yusei! Wake up time!" He poked Yusei's security mark lightly. "Wake up sleepy head!"

"Rua! Cut that out!" Ruca snapped. "He probably just needs rest!"

"I don't know..." Ushio began, sitting down abruptly. "I don't know what's going on here. This is just madness!"

They ignored him, focusing on the duelist lying at their feet. He was so still it was unnatural, and they all had to resist the urge to reach out and check for his pulse again. The expression on his face was one of just pure peace, and it disturbed them. Yusei never wore an expression like that, even during the rare times they had seen him asleep. He was always so serious or troubled. He never really relaxed. It was just too weird to see him looking like that without being dead.

Ruca spoke up again, biting her lip, "Do you think Yusei is like Aki?"

"Huh?" Crow wondered. "Who's Aki?"

"A friend of ours that Yusei saved," Rua answered quickly, tapping his finger on his arm in thought, trying not to show the fear eating away at his mind. "Hmm... you might be right Ruca. Maybe we need to go to Aki to get him to wake up, like Yusei did to her!"

"What are you guys talking about?" Crow frowned. He continued to stare into his fallen friends face as if willing him to come around with his thoughts. The Signer gave no sign that he felt their presence or even cared. "Yusei! Yusei! Come on, get a hold of yourself!"

The twins followed suit, and Ushio mimicked them, too befuddled to do anything else. They called for what felt like hours with no results. Their friend simply lied there and breathed quietly to himself, his light gone. Dread tore at their souls, taunting their minds, dashing their hopes. Had Yusei been returned to them only to never wake up again? Was this some kind of sick joke that Death was playing on them?

But finally, Yusei stirred, squeezing his eyes closed tighter and squishing his brow together, shattering the peaceful illusion. Their breath caught in their throats as he slowly opened his blue eyes and regarded them tiredly.

"Am I back?"

Even though his eyelids were only half open and he obviously was out of focus, they all felt joy surge into their chests. Yusei was awake! Yusei was alright! He was really alive!

"Thank goodness," Ruca whispered, leaning down to hug him tightly. Rua followed suit, crying happily. His heartbeat was a steady comfort in their small ears. After a pregnant pause, he returned their pressure, assuring them he was here.

"You seem fine!" Rua grinned sloppily, pulling away and shooting Ushio a pointed look. Yusei nodded wordlessly, sitting up with Ruca's help. He looked down at his arm when his birthmark finally glowed in response to Jack's duel.

"What happened?" Ushio wondered, repositioning himself so he could get a clear view of Yusei's very much alive eyes. "How are you..?"

"It doesn't matter!" Rua repeated, exaggerated. "How many times do I have to say it?"

Yusei's gaze swept to meet all of theirs, and there was something within it that they couldn't quite place. He seemed sadder somehow, as if his return to his friends wasn't something he was sure should be celebrated.

"I'm sorry for worrying all of you," he said finally, voice so soft. "But we have to keep moving."

"Right! What Rudger said before he tried to off you," Crow agreed. "This is such a strange time to have to worry about things like that when we just got you back."

They all agreed silently, watching Yusei's eyes harden over once more, hiding his sorrow and replacing it with determination. "If we don't activate the remaining two seals before sunset, the King of the Underworld will be revived."

_If he hasn't been already._

Suddenly, the two small red lights grew larger, causing everyone to look at the Signers in the group. Yusei and Ruca shared a glance and then turned to the Hummingbird in the air.

"Jack's calling to us, just like your duel with Kiryu Yusei," she said, touching her arm as the crimson mark faded. Yusei agreed silently, staring down at his jacket.

"He's trying to save his important person"—All eyes swiveled to meet him, surprised that he knew this and wondering if he knew the identity of the Fifth Dark Signer—"and we'll support him."

They watched the sky until the Hummingbird Mark disappeared and their marks returned to them. Jack had been victorious, but they could still feel the pain that the Dark Signer's death brought him. Yet the two of them kept their lips shut about it, simply telling the others that Jack won and that was that.

Yusei now understood Jack's unusually soft approach to challenging the girl, why he wanted to save her so badly, why he kept his knowledge of her existence silent.

He had loved her.

* * *

**Jack POV**

Her life points hit zero because of my Savoir Dragon, the power that my friends had leant me to save her. But I hadn't wanted it to come down to this, even if it was her wish that I was the one who killed her. _She had wanted this;_ I tried to remind myself as I stopped my D-Wheel and threw off my helmet in a random direction, sprinting to where she had fallen. _She didn't want to hurt anyone anymore as a Dark Signer_, I thought as the purple flames extinguished around me.

_I saved her in the way she wanted,_ I told myself as I pulled her weak body into my arms and stared down into her lifeless eyes. But it didn't matter to the heart pummeling its way to my throat or the tears that I refused to show in my eyes. She was still dying. She was going to leave me again.

"Carley! Hang in there, don't you die!" I shouted, pulling her closer still. Her eyes squinted, trying to make me out past death's haze.

"Jack? Is that you? I can't see anything..." She continued to search for me with those dead eyes of hers, and I understood the problem, returning her glasses to her face finally. She gasped and then smiled. "Jack."

"Fight Carley! Don't die!" I repeated, shoulders shaking. My cries echoed across the desolute landscape and the cloudy sky, trapped in by Satellite's despair, unable to rise to where they could be heard. Slowly, she shook her head and looked away from me.

"I made a stupid mistake Jack... I hurt so many people... all because I wanted to believe in what the Dark Signers told me... for my own twisted happiness... It was wrong, I was wrong..."

"I've hurt people too Carley!" I answered, forcing her to look at me and hear my voice. Her eyes were a bittersweet comfort. "You know I did... to become the Riding King I stepped on so many people... in order for _my_ twisted happiness. It doesn't mean that you should give up or that you deserve to die!"

"Jack," she continued to smile at me, although the resolve I had seen in her eyes on the final turn of our duel was gone. "I'm going to watch over you now, forever. I'll be cheering you on until the day we can finally meet again... just promise me that you'll live your life to its fullest, that you'll become who you truly are... a King that will be loved by all."

"Don't say things like that! You'll be fine! Don't die!" I replied, eyes stinging with the tears that couldn't fall. She laughed softly, reaching up and wrapping her arms around me with her last remaining strength. I squeezed her back with all my strength, hoping against hope that if my grip didn't loosen, she wouldn't leave.

But I could see her body begin to turn gray, so I closed my eyes and simply held her with everything that I had felt. She was smiling, I could feel it.

Every memory of the short time we had spent together raced through my head. All of the life that had been stolen from us, the love that we couldn't share any longer... everything that we could be. My heart slowly began to dissolve, lost in the sea of darkness that I had never felt before.

"I love you Jack," she whispered in my ear before she turned her head to look at me one last time. Those hazy blue eyes were still beautiful somehow, and her glasses only reminded me of the nights I stared up into the stars thinking of her; of this moment. The moment when I had imagined myself saving her.

It had been nothing like this in my mind.

I _couldn't_ save her. There was _nothing_ I could do to save the person I loved other than to end her life. There was no feeling more powerful or dangerous than the love I felt for her. It was destroying me; it had already killed her.

"Carley..." was all I could think to say. There was no love professions, no undying vows to avenge her, nothing other than the life that we were steadily losing. And she wouldn't have it any other way.

Gently, her lips touched mine for the first and last time.

Finally, the tears fell hot down my cheeks, and they broke past her lashes as well. Our first kiss was in our own rain, drowned by the sorrow that was our fate. I opened my eyes, forcing myself to look at her, so that the last thing she would see before she died was the love I had for her as well. My words were finally over, useless carcasses left on the dueling field.

The light that saved her had come from my soul, and it should be that power that led her into eternal peace.

She opened her eyes as well, gray like everything else. Then I felt her lips tug into a smile against my own. They formed my name once more, stolen by my lips.

It was then that she faded away, leaving me with the taste of ashes on my lips and her glasses before me once again. Desperately, I gripped at the air where she had been before. My eyes stared uncomprehendingly at the dirt below my knees where she had been in my arms. My ears strained to hear the sound of her love but only found silence.

_She was gone._

* * *

**(1) Maybe I jumped the gun a little bit with love confession... hehehe. I'm a CarleyxJack fan/ MikagexJack. **

**(2) Random reference to Greek Mythology or clever allusion? I thought since Yusei obviously has to live to save Aki in 60 there should be some kind of reference to a 'crossing point' between the Underworld and Earth, so why not the River Styx? **

**For those of you who don't know what it is, to put it simply, the River Styx is a river in Greek Mythology that separates the Underworld (ruled by Hades) from Earth.**

**Alright, now I really have to go watch the new episode before I kill myself from excitement. What really happens to Carley?! Hopefully the writers will find a loophole somewhere and save her! DX**

**AxJfan**


	4. Crowded

**Here it is before the episode airs, completed in less than two days. My God I am beat. **

**On another note, I'm disappointed as well. I only recieved one review for the last chapter, and that's rather discouraging. Don't get me wrong it was a rocking review and all and I don't write just to get showered in praise from my readers, its just nice to know that people are actually reading what I'm writing. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh 5ds.**

**

* * *

****Crowded**

**Third Person POV**

**Past**

Defeat. How?!

Shock. Why?!

Falling. What?!

Gravity.

"DIVINE!"

Her voice, loud and clear.

Eyes won't open. Can't save self. Powers useless. I try and stop, fail miserably. The dead girl came back to life! She had been revived to kill me.

Falling still. Such a far way down.

What had happened to make the universe spit on its own laws? What kind of mistake was the not-dead-dead-girl who had just killed me? Would I even die?

I didn't know. There were no absolutes in this world anymore if Life and Death didn't mean anything.

My dreams, my goals, my vision of a world ruled by me; did it all mean nothing? All the careful years of gathering psychic duelists near and far, all the time spent winning their trust, was it all going to undone by one freak of nature?

_DIVINE!_

Her screams echoed down the floors with me, her voice carrying me to my death. Aki.

The one who foolishly loved me. The girl with so much power and potential, but no control. The girl who was thinking of betraying my trust with every second that passed because of that Satellite runt she met at the Fortune Cup, the man who defeated her, who humiliated her by standing up against her legendary power.

The other Signer.

_And it was their fault,_ I realized on the long way down to death, _that these creatures, the Dark Signers, were even here._

If Aki was not here, then their attention would never had been drawn to my Arcadia Movement until we had them crushed under our might—my might.

There is heat surrounding me now, I'm close enough to the bottom floor to feel the fire I had seen out the window. Death is close. My heart picked up speed, unable to believe that this was the end. I held all of these people and all of their powers in the palm of my hand and I could do nothing to save myself?!

Hatred surged from the spot I kept it buried. The hatred of the world I lived in, the hatred of everyone around me who didn't understand, the hatred of the Signer from the Fortune Cup who was making my most valuable asset defy me, and the hatred for Aki for abandoning me after everything I've made her believe.

There was a small comfort buried in my hatred. She would be lost without me. I was her only place. We had burned down all other bridges that she had together.

She'd be alone.

I opened my eyes finally, watching the ceiling get smaller and smaller. If I couldn't have Aki's powers, no one could. My mouth opened to laugh once, but before the sound could escape me, my body hit the ground.

Death.

* * *

**Aki POV**

"Thank God!" Mikage shouted when I told her of Jack's victory, omitting the crushing sorrow that came with it for her sake. The relief that played across her face was an immense comfort for me as well. Her faith in Jack was true, so maybe my beliefs in Yusei will lead him to victory as well.

I could almost smile. Almost.

The doubts that I held were still a heavy burden on my tentatively opening heart. I didn't understand how the others could deal with all of this every second of their lives. Maybe that was my fault for sealing off the emotions for so long though. But Yusei seemed confident that I would recover myself completely, and I trusted his judgment more than my own.

Yusei...

I still couldn't feel him. Even when my mark had returned to me and I had briefly felt Ruca's small joy, there had been no response from Yusei's Tail Mark. What did all of this mean?

"Aki, we're here," Mikage announced suddenly, smoothly stopping the car and observing the tall tower before us. I hadn't even noticed its presence in the rapidly darkening sky. Satellite's scenery just seemed to all blend together in different shades of distressed gray.

"Thanks," I murmured, turning to the older woman to show my gratitude. She smiled back, happy about Jack but now nervous for me. That made two of us. My eyes skirted from direct contact to hide my lack of confidence, studying the haphazard landscape around us, searching for a vantage point where Mikage could watch without getting caught in the flames of this duel.

"Aki... if you don't mind me asking..." she started tentatively, playing with her seatbelt. I nodded wordlessly, studying a piece of land that jutted above everything else. It seemed to be stable enough for her and others to stand on safely. "Why is Misty your opponent?"

I blinked, turning towards her. No one had bothered to ask me that. Actually, no one had bothered to ask anyone what the deal was with their Dark Signer opponents. It was like a secret pact between the Signers; we didn't want to bring each other more sorrow by making each other speak out about the pain of our opponents.

But Mikage wasn't a Signer. Her sadness was only for Jack and his suffering, and now that I had told her Jack was more than fine, that he had won, she didn't even have that sadness anymore. It was strangely refreshing to see and hear a voice without hidden pain try and understand mine.

"Misty lost her little brother to the Arcadia Movement," I answered simply, taking off my seatbelt and exiting the car. "She blames me, and I'm here to set her straight."

I watched her brow furrow from the corner of my eyes, aware of the doubt lingering just below her surface. It was only natural that she would assume there was more to the story than just that.

Because there was so much more that I didn't even know yet. I never saw any children around the areas where I dueled. I had always made sure never to harm one so innocent as a child. I knew that they deserved to live out their lives with love; the thing that had been deprived from me.

I pointed to the slab of concrete and dirt. "Mikage, why don't you go over there so you don't get caught in the crossfire?"

After staring at me worriedly for a few more minutes, biting her already agitated lower lip, she rose and followed my advice. "Thank you Aki. I wish you luck in your battle." She bowed formally, a force of habit from tending to Jack Atlas for two years, and left.

I watched her click away in her heels, drawing the resolve that Yusei had given me from the corners of my heart. I was about to fight someone who had labeled me a murderer... which I was. But never a kid. My Psycho-Duels were never forced on anyone who didn't challenge me.

_Except maybe the monsters who surrounded the duel and cheered for my defeat._

It was possible that the effects of my duels had killed Misty's little brother. It was very plausible and very real. I could have the blood of an innocent little child on my hand. Misty's hate for me could actually be justified. I was sure that none of the other's duels had that ring—justice. They were just misunderstandings.

This was murder.

I took a deep breath and looked upwards, something I had observed Yusei do whenever his pain began to show in the corners of his eyes. I imagined the beautiful stars that could only be seen in Tops, their small lights shining on despite the glow of Neo Domino's lights and Satellite's smog. They were constant; they were guiding us even though we couldn't see us. They were watching over us.

It gave me a small comfort in the center of my soul. So I took a step forward, mentally preparing myself with images of all my guiding stars.

My mother and father, praying for me and believing in me as they looked up at the lowering sun, Mikage, beginning her ascent up the outlook, the Signers, ready to give me their strength at a moment's notice, Yusei, the only one who was a star among us all, and Divine. He would be watching over me, I was sure of it... no matter what anyone else said.

Everything he had said to me... in my success and in failure...

_"Go show the world your beautiful face."_

_"It's okay, you tried."_

_"You don't have to think anymore, I'll think for you."_

_His arms around my thin body made of skin and bones—nothing more. His breath in my ear, against my hair, his understanding flooding through me..._

I couldn't believe that Divine had betrayed me. What he had done for me... he had saved me. He had loved me, I was sure of it. And I had loved him as well. There was just no way that he was only using me. And even if he had been... I still forgave him. He had given me a place when I was alone, and I still treasured it.

Yes, I knew that he would be watching over me too.

I smiled, thoughts expanding to the horizons. There just wasn't enough room in my head to keep them locked down. I remembered, Yusei didn't reject me for my feelings. He accepted me even when I told him that I couldn't hate Divine, even though the others expected me to. He understood me even better than Divine had.

And maybe... maybe I loved him like I did Divine. I certainly wanted to see him at least once more with all of my soul, the secret wish I held for Divine.

But I just didn't expect him to be waiting for me just around the edge of Mikage's outlook, smiling cleanly as he always did.

"Hello, Aki."

* * *

**Yusei POV**

It was strange, willingly urging my friends to kill me. Of course, they didn't know the consequences of everything that was about to happen. They didn't know that I wasn't exactly alive or dead. They didn't know that it was my father's light that was keeping me from becoming a monster. They didn't know that it was the love and pain I felt for them that had put me in this position.

They had no clue that they were both my light and my darkness.

And I would keep it that way if it meant protecting them.

"You sure you're ok Yusei?" Ruca asked again as I stumbled on unsteady legs towards my D-Wheel, the only source of life in the landscape Momentum had destroyed. I didn't question its presence, just accepted it and let Ushio babble about how impossible everything was.

I took a breath to gather my thoughts and force a smile at her. "Yeah, don't worry about me."

Her eyes didn't leave me, so I pulled out another surge of strength and fortified my mask. I had to make them believe that I was completely fine if we were going to seal the Underworld once and for all. If they knew about the shard of my soul the King was clutching so tightly, they wouldn't fight as hard as the world needed them to. If they knew the only reason I was walking next to them, breathing, talking, was because he wasn't sealed yet...

They'd tell Aki during her duel with Misty. It was certain, because they'd think she deserved to know what effect her duel would have on me. Never mind the sake of the world, Aki would be torn apart if she knew. Deep within her I knew she felt that Divine's death had been her fault. I knew that she wouldn't be able to "kill" me too. But with the weight of the world on her shoulders, what decision could she make?

Really, to her, what choice was there?

Aki was intelligent and caring beneath her cold exterior, she was like me, so I knew what she would decide to do in the end. She'd throw the duel to save her friend, because her fragile heart wouldn't let her destroy a life that wasn't her own. Like Rally and I. Given the choice, I would have killed myself in his place.

And I wouldn't have her unfulfilled life on my dead hands. I wouldn't be able to handle the emotions that would come with her sacrifice. The light the kept him at bay would diminish by one large part.

It would all be over then.

There was only time for one more duel before the sun set, and if Aki was lost, I would be as well.

I couldn't risk anything if I was to keep my hands clean of innocent people's blood. Even if it meant that my friends had to feel that I betrayed them by not telling them of who I wasn't.

I loved them too much to burden them with my destroyed life.

_In the end Yusei, it won't matter. Even if I am sealed back into the Underworld... do you think your friends will stop loving you because you made yourself a sacrificial lamb to save their lives? No, they'll still love you. And they'll blame themselves, not you. And Aki? Either way, we know, she will end up dead. The only uncertainty is whether it will be by her own hands or by our servants'._

His voice still whispered in my ear, haunting and painful in my horrible beating heart. My hands twitched, wanting nothing more to curl into fists and scream back at the being within me. But my friends were watching me with the eyes of a hawk as we made our way to our vehicles, getting ready to depart for the Lizard Seal. I couldn't let anything show, but it was getting more and more difficult with each passing second.

_Sacrifice is a one-way ticket to heaven,_ it whispered, twisting at my darkness again. I let out a small pained noise that went observed and noted by all. _Suicide is a one-stop drop to hell._

Rua started forward, but Crow's hand on his shoulder held him back. They shared a suffering look with each other and an understanding was met. Rua dropped his advances and went back to watching me nervously with the others. Crow was the first to reach his D-Wheel and thus the first to make his way over to me.

His gaze was set in a smile, supportive and silent and so many more things that couldn't fit in it. He knew me better than the others; he knew that I hated to be pitied and watched like I was about to fall apart. The markers striping his face told me that he was the same way, and that he'd help me by letting me tough it out.

_Who'll help him if you let yourself die?_

I didn't argue with him. That would be acknowledging his presence and losing myself in his insanity. No one could beat craziness in a verbal argument, so I would starve it with my silence... if I could find any in my cluttered mind.

I finally reached my D-Wheel, the ten feet or so feeling like a mile. The familiar motion of raising its arm and sitting down on its black seat comforted me, my body starting it up like second nature. Ushio and the twins had already hopped into the car and looked up at me, waiting for me to take the lead so they could continue to watch me.

Mildly annoyed, I revved my engine and shot off in the general direction of Aki's soon-to-be duel with Misty. As far as I could remember from the map, it was a straight-shot from here, minus a few piles of garbage.

This meant there was nothing to stop me from getting lost in my thoughts, a very easy feat. My mind had never been organized and calm like everyone assumed. There were always feelings and fear and guilt flying around, banging into my skull, trying to knock my guard down. They thought I was just the strong and silent type, which wasn't exactly wrong. But it wasn't right either, not lately. I kept my silence because of all the things that made me frail, every weakness that constantly tried to show itself above every other thought I had.

The guilt was most common. The fact that my father and I had ruined everyone's lives... it haunted me during the moments I spent with them and the moments I stood on my own. Hanging around my head, waiting to drop onto me the second my guard vanished, as it had during my duel with Rudger.

Now that I thought about it, that was the first and only time I had ever confessed my darkness. And I had done it to an enemy. Why? What was it about that duel, about the hatred that overpowered me, made me show a sliver of what was constantly going on in my skull?

Why hadn't I told anyone about it when something could have been done about it? Crow had tried to rid me of it, had told me that he never blamed me and I shouldn't blame myself, told me that his fate was to meet me and be my friend. But I couldn't shake it; its hold on me was permanent, especially now that I had seen...

Why didn't he let me approach him? Why wouldn't he talk to me? Why did he save me? How did he save me? Was he alright? Was he just trapped in Momentum like a sacrifice or was he dead? Where was my mother? Would I see him again?

I remembered the feeling of my arms wrapped around him; of the light he bathed me in, the love in his touch. But even then he had let go of me, throwing me back into this world without any explanation.

Why? Was it because I was tainted? Why couldn't he come sooner—before I had fallen?

My hands clenched the handles tighter and I shot forward quickly, trying to outrun the thoughts that wouldn't stop coming. All of these questions and I couldn't find one answer.

I closed my eyes for a brief second, blocking out Satellite in an attempt to get a grip on myself. The wind blew through my clothes, my heart raced in mixed joy at the speed I was going. I was seized with the urge to throw off my helmet and let the gales blow through my hair and sting my eyes until they leaked tears.

Did safety even matter to me anymore? If I crashed and bashed my head open—would anything change? I was already dead, wasn't I?

But I kept it on, practicality overruling everything else. Just because I can do something doesn't mean I should.

I opened my eyes again, tired of seeing the nothingness that I had just spent an endless amount of time suffering in. My vision didn't return.

Startled, I shook my head violently and tried to refocus myself. Tiny pinpricks of color sprang up to meet me, blurs of gray on gray. I blinked furiously, refusing to give into the fatigue slowly clawing its way through everything in my mind. Satellite came into shape around me, blurry, but clear enough for me to maneuver through.

I pressed on.

I could hear Blackbird's engine roar, Ushio's frown, and the twin's whispering voices behind me. They were all so concerned about me, no matter how good of a front I put up. It was just like my fight with Rudger... except this time I was actually hoping for death.

My eyelids fluttered, exhausted by just... everything. I was dimly aware that I was getting highway-vision; my eyes were fixed on a distant point in the horizon as the scenery zipped past me, unnoticed. I blinked slowly, keeping myself focused. I just had to get to the end.

... But my destination had never really been the problem. It was the journey that was supposed to matter the most, and I was missing it. It was then, as I was unable to get the world around me into clear focus, that I realized exactly what was going to be lost.

This might just be the last time I ever ride side-by-side with Crow or hear Rua and Ruca bicker or see Ushio roll his eyes in my rearview mirror. Never mind the circumstances, I should be treasuring these moments instead of blocking them out. Whatever the reasons behind my beating heart, it was my decision how to utilize the time it gave me.

My remaining time was not in Death's hands, it was in my own.

_Isn't that the same thing for us?_ He pulled at my heart again, reminding me of his presence.

A rare smile tugged at the corner of my lips. It was not the same thing; this was very different from anything he wanted from me. I turned around in my seat, making eye contact with each and every one of them, something I had avoided. I let them see what I normally kept hidden. I wanted them to know just how important they were to me and how much I wanted to protect them.

I wanted to let them know how much I loved them before I lost them.

"It's ok... it'll be alright," I told them, feeling the hard lines around my eyes soften. They looked back at me, confused and even more worried. I kept smiling, but a different kind than before, the determination behind my face was not to keep them in the dark—it was to return to them the light they had given me.

"Yusei?" Ushio muttered. I nodded at him, slowing down my D-Wheel so that I was riding level to them. My vitality flickered as the darkness I held diminished, but it didn't show in my eyes.

"Thank you for everything," I said simply. He blinked, surprised.

"Where's this coming from?" he asked, glancing back at the kids in the back of his car. I took my right hand off my handle and showed my arm to them, maintaining my eye contact. They looked at me in silence as I placed my hand over my heart and returned my gaze to the approaching sunset.

"Here," I answered before returning my hand to the steering. They were all quiet, staring at me with a mash of thoughts racing behind their faces. "I've just remembered what was really important in my life... and I'm sorry for forgetting."

"There's nothing to be sorry about," Crow replied after a pause, holding out his fist to me. I pounded it in response, our pact of brotherhood.

"Yeah!" Rua agreed, though he still didn't seem to understand. His sister watched me with her eyes carefully, and the hands covering her deck were shaking. I think she was beginning to comprehend.

I shot her a quick reassuring look, trying to let her know that I was ok with whatever happened and that I was prepared for it. I think that only worried her more.

"Yusei..."

"It'll be alright Ruca, I promise you that."

_Alright? It will be better than alright; you'll never die. You'll be immortal, a King who could watch over their deaths forever!_

"What do you intend to do Yusei?" Ushio demanded, switching his gaze between the road and me. I shrugged, my attention returning to the sky above me; the stars hidden by the light and smog. I had my answer.

"What I've been trying to do all along, protect and guide you."

The voice of the King died down after this in a spat of hissing and clawing, trying ineffectively to put a dent in my resolve. My thoughts still flung themselves in a mess around my head, the questions still remained unanswered.

My head had always been a crowded place, what was one more voice going to do to me?

* * *

**Third Person POV**

**Lizard Seal**

He waited for her patiently, ignoring the imposing presence of the tower behind him. He knew that the duel he had 'died' because of was just a fluke. One freak of nature was not enough to stop his divine power and his Arcadia Movement.

Divine power. _Ha-ha-ha!_

He remembered being in a hellish place with a soft ground and a black sky with hundreds of others. He recalled the fearsome Hummingbird descend from the dark clouds and take all of their souls so that it could be summoned. Felt the crushing weight of defeat of the Earthbound God as the foolish girl who claimed to master it destroyed her not-life to save her opponent's. Victory for the Signer brought life back to him and all the others sacrificed for the monster.

He remembered the blinding dome of light that had returned him and his movement and random citizens of Neo Domino to the real world. And of course, he had taken control of the situation; it was what he was born to do. He instructed his movement to return to Neo Domino with the citizens (seeing as they would only get in the way for his plans) and he would join them after he 'saved' the Black Rose Witch from the Signers.

And they listened, just as loyal to him as they had been before this ordeal. His grin grew as he dusted off his gloves. It really didn't take a genius to figure out what to do next, especially when he already knew everything that had happened during Zero Reverse seventeen years ago. Having something to hold over Godwin's head always gave him valuable information at the snap of his fingers.

And of course, he was a psychic. He knew where Aki was at all times, he always recognized minds his influence had touched, and locating her and her destination was no big deal. Getting there was a simple matter of summoning a monster and riding there with class and grace, as was always necessary.

Now all that was left to do was carry out his revenge on her, the Signers, and the Dark Signers and secure her place within his war. He smirked as her thought patterns drew nearer, spiking with emotions because of him, just as they should be. But it quickly turned to a frown when her thoughts turned to _him_. Yusei Fudo.

Well, he wouldn't be a problem for much longer either. He would wipe them all out in one simple, effective duel, just as he always did. It would be very tidy indeed, leaving only his control left for life.

If he couldn't take revenge on the Dark Signers for trying to tear down their betters, then he would do it through Aki. And through her deadly powers, he would kill Fudo and the other Signers until all of their powers were his to control. Then he would summon the Crimson Dragon for his Movement and use its glorious power for total domination.

Simple, ingenious, and effective.

He heard the car stop and the two females go their separate ways. Perfect, working out according to plan. Talking to Aki by herself was ideal; it would give him more than enough room to convince her that he was still on her side. When, in reality, it was her that was about to join his side.

She rounded the corner, thinking and comparing Divine and Yusei, much to his disgust, and she looked up, her guarded eyes widening in complete shock. Good.

"Hello Aki," he smiled, waiting for her reaction to determine his next move. She didn't have one other than to stare at him in muted awe. He laughed as lightly as he could and took a step towards her, arms open wide. "I've returned to help you. The Dark Signer who held my soul captive has been defeated. I've come back to you."

She spluttered, the strange emotions so foreign to her porcelain facing consuming her. It seems as though Fudo had caused some damage to her after all. Nothing that couldn't be fixed by his careful hands though.

"D-Divine?!" she finally exclaimed, tears running down the side of her face. Satisfaction ripped through him. He could bring her to tears by simply existing—was there any greater power than this?

"There, there," he muttered, wiping away her tears with his gloves. "I'm gone for a few days and look at what happens. You've fallen right back into your sorrow. Let me take away your pain again Aki."

She didn't even seem to hear him; she just threw her long arms around him and pulled herself closer, wetting the front of his shirt with her tears. "You're alive! This is real! Oh Divine!"

He returned the pressure and stroked the device that kept her powers in check. "Of course this is real. Why wouldn't it be? Nothing can tear you away from me Aki."

She looked up at him past the tears, simply happy. "Divine..."

"Aki," he replied, stroking the side of her face. She stood, shocked at the new touch, and then she pulled away awkwardly, holding her right arm. He didn't miss the familiar sight. "Is your wretched mark hurting you Aki?"

She blinked, as if awakening from a deep sleep. Something in her stance became defiant, wrong. "I was wrong Divine."

He frowned politely. "I don't understand Aki. You're still my important person, aren't you?"

A crack in her soul, he could both hear and feel it coming from her maskless face. She looked away, another bad sign. Just how badly had Fudo corrupted her?

"Divine, you are still very important to me... but I've moved on. I was wrong. This mark isn't terrible, it's a blessing. It's brought me my family... friends... it's brought me so much love," she whispered, unable to meet his gaze, strangely guilty.

"But your family abandoned you Aki! The Signers aren't your friends; they just need you to help them finish their war!"

"What about _your_ war Divine?!" she shouted suddenly, taking several steps away from him and throwing her hands down to her sides, fists clenched. Angry. "When were you planning on telling me about that?! About the children you were torturing?!"

She began to sob quietly to herself, shaking down to her very core. That was good. He took another step towards her, encouraged when she didn't back away.

"Tell me that you weren't lying to me Divine," she begged, closing her eyes. "Tell me that I wasn't just a tool to you."

He kept his voice soft and smooth, the tone he always used when he was persuading someone to believe something that wasn't true. "You were never a tool Aki. I was going to tell you of my plans that very night. Don't you remember me asking you to come to my meeting? You meant—mean—so much to me and the Arcadia Movement Aki, how could you possibly think any of it was fake?"

"Godwin had files on you, Mikage showed them to Yusei and me after..."

"There it is," he inserted, putting his hands on her shoulders. She looked up at him, hanging onto his every word, "Godwin's files. Aki, don't you remember everything I've told you about him? How he's manipulative and has his own hidden agenda and how he will twist you given the chance so he can summon the Crimson Dragon for his own gain?"

Realization dawned in her eyes, her lips falling open. "_Oh_. Oh. I've... I've been a fool..."

He smiled gently. "It's alright Aki, I'm here now. You don't have to think about it anymore, I'll take care of everything for you."

He removed his hands from her shoulders so he could offer them between them, just waiting for her to reach across the gap and rebuild the bridge that the truth had shaken. Her hands shook at her side and thoughts whirled behind her eyes. He felt genuine concern for a few moments, watching her think for herself.

Now that she'd had a taste of freedom, would she give it up again?

"No," she answered, hugging herself with those hands instead of placing them in his. She looked him deep in his green eyes, demanding the truth with her own psychic pressure. "Divine, tell me the truth. Was there every a little boy that was related to Misty Lola in the Arcadia Movement?"

He paused, pretending to consider her question. "You mean the world-class model Misty?"

She nodded tightly, her gaze burrowing straight through him like fire. A lie came off his tongue instantly, elegantly, honestly believable.

"I didn't even know she had a brother. It's a possibility I suppose, but I think I would have heard of a top-model's brother going missing, don't you?"

For some reason, that answer tore right through every illusion that was left between them. "Liar!" she shouted, jabbing out at him with her fist. Her power, still controlled by the device thankfully, blew him onto the ground, far away from her. "Misty was turned into a Dark Signer because her brother was killed by our Movement!"

He waited for the next waves of her power to hit him, uncontrolled and beautiful, but they did not come. She simply stood there, her fist still closed into open air, staring down at him with betrayal and love mixed with everything else she wasn't used to feeling.

"There is truth behind the lack of light in her eyes! This is the truth! Her brother was either killed by me or taken because he showed psychic abilities! And I know that there were no children in the dueling areas... It was you! It was always you Divine!" she raged, shaking her head in deep distress.

"Aki, listen to me. You've been deceived; the Dark Signers are insane, evil, liars."

"No Divine! I'm done listening to you! The Dark Signers are just normal people who have been manipulated by the Underworld! They feel hate just as anyone else would, and they have justifiable reasons behind that hatred! I believe what Misty says!"

He opened his mouth to speak again; surprised by this development and by the horrible control Aki was exercising over her powers. How had all of this happened?!

"Shut up! I trusted you so much Divine! _I loved you!_ But you only loved the Witch, not me! You never cared about me so long as the Witch continued to act for you! But guess what?!" she commanded, pulling her hand back to her heart, touching it tenderly. "I've found people who love me for who I really am! I've found a place that I will never leave! I've found someone who sees the mess I am and loves me anyway!"

Anger. "He can't save you Aki! He never could!" he shouted back, standing up and unleashing the fury of his power on her. She stood back, strong and beautiful and deadly. Not the Witch any longer.

"He already has Divine!" she replied with eyes terribly sad. "Now either tell me the truth or leave me alone!"

Their powers whipped the wind around them in unnatural gales, but her strength surpassed his by leaps and bounds. His grin turned cruel, the face behind his invisible mask. She may have more brute force, but he had a lifetime of manipulating progress to put against her.

"The truth Aki?! You want the truth?! The truth is I need you! I need you to make my dreams become a reality! And I won't take no for an answer!"

He struck out sharp and fast, forcing his will on her fragile, cluttered mind. She fought back admirably, throwing out images of her family and friends to combat his control. But he dug deeper, in his element. His manipulation of her had been gradual, had started years ago. She had no chance, and she knew it. But she fought anyway.

"I will not betray my place!" she shouted, both mentally and physically, shoving her feelings for him in his face. All of the spoiled love, the devotion, the loyalty, the bitterness, the depression, the denial, the pity, and then she twisted his own hatred against him. He dug deeper, past everything, searching for a way to stop her struggles.

He found Yusei. Suddenly he was overwhelmed by Aki's thoughts about him, her concerns for him, her undying gratitude, her regret for hurting him, her deep lack of understanding for his soul, the feeling she got when he approached her... and... and...

He grinned.

"Yusei is dead!" he shouted it, watching with pleasure as her expression cracked and she bit her lip hard enough to draw blood.

"Lies!" she hissed, trying to flood him out with more thoughts of her star. The sunset they shared together, their duel, how warm his touch had been on her cheek, how she had heard him call through all her sorrow... how... how...

"How Rudger killed him with his dying breath!"

"S-Shut up!"

The images were changing—Yusei's dark eyes losing their light, his heartbeat stopping, his throat screaming out in pain, his mark fading once and for all...

"Why can't you feel him if he's not dead?" He laughed loudly, and then he couldn't stop the noise.

"No! He's not dead! He's strong!"

His cackles increased, drowning out her cries. "He's just a man! He can't defy death!"

"You're wrong!" she finally cracked, running away from him and her fight, unable to stand with her precious little heart and delicate feelings on her sleeve. He let her go face her opponent in her state, waiting for the correct moment for him to finish taking over her. He was very patient, and now destroying them all would be all the sweeter.

She had betrayed him, she deserved it. And that Yusei Fudo, who would have guessed that he would be both her light and darkness?

And the simple beauty was that he would use Aki's hands to destroy the one she loved. What sweeter revenge was there? **(1)**

* * *

**Aki POV**

I ran away from him as fast as my legs could take me, the feeling of his touch in my mind still burning heavily. Yusei's face, dead, silent, staring blankly at a something no one else could see, swan into my heart again, killing it. He couldn't be!

Divine was a liar! He was just trying to twist and entangle all of my fears so that he could use me!

And it was working so well.

But I couldn't listen to him, I had to ignore him. I would put aside everything just so that I could face off against Misty and give her the answer that she was trying to beat out of me. Her brother had undoubtedly been recruited into the Arcadia Movement; I had sensed the truth from within Divine's cruel, cold soul.

But I didn't know of his fate. Was he alive?

I slowed as I got close to the tower, wiping the tears away from my eyes with the back of my gloves. Weakness was not allowed in a fated duel. I had to be strong for all of my friends, like I told Divine: I had to fight to protect my place, no matter what he tried to do to my head. I had people depending on me. Mama, Papa, my friends, Yusei, the entire world...

My lower lip trembled, the copper taste of my own blood strong in my mouth. And here I was, weak and flimsy when they all needed a warrior of the Crimson Dragon. What was wrong with me? A child like Ruca was willingly to fling herself into battle and I was here hesitating at Death's front door just because Divine...

And despite everything, my heart still wouldn't let me hate him.

_Yusei would understand. He would accept me still. He would..._

His face again, pain screaming in his eyes. I opened mine and stared up at the tower in front of me. If I really wanted to know the truth... I would have to fight Misty and defeat her. Then I was free of my duties and I could tear apart Satellite until I found Yusei. And then I could hold him, whether his heart be beating or not, and cry into his chest, tell him everything.

Destroyed but still standing, I took the remaining steps towards my fated duel. The flames ignited around me and I stopped, staring through the heat hazes at Misty as she swayed over to me, stopping at a considerable distance and activating her duel disk. Her eyes were set in deep hatred, her intentions clear in the way she drew he first five cards.

"Misty!" I called out. "Your brother was taken by the Arcadia Movement; I didn't kill him! We don't have to fight!"

"I won't listen to your lies Witch!" she replied, showing me the mark that burned angrily on her arm. Looking down at my own, I searched for him once more, finding only a faint echo where he should be. But it was still something.

"I don't want to hurt you Misty, but if this is the only way to make you listen..." I activated my weapons and drew my cards, aware of Divine's presence in my mind. Watching, waiting for me to slip up.

"Duel!"

She took the first turn, drawing her card and staring at me with those black eyes. Before she made a move, her frown turned sour and she laughed. "You don't want to hurt me?! You?! You've already killed me you wretched Signer! By stealing away my brother's life... I will never forgive you!"

"Misty! Please listen to me, I never saw any children at the places I dueled! Even if I had I wouldn't have hurt an innocent child!"

"Are you so sure?" she snarled back. "Would your evil soul have refused a challenge if the boy was calling you out on all your sins? Would you have just let him skip on home to my arms if he insulted you? Or would you have carved him up with your Psycho-duels like you did to everyone else?!"

Her accusations hurt, for there was a certain truth ringing in her harsh words. But I had to move past that... I had to duel her like an enemy if I was going to win. I couldn't do what Yusei had done with Kiryu, I couldn't duel her like a friend. We had no history between us other than her younger brother. Someone I had never even met.

"Misty... You're right. I was crazy. I was a killer," I answered, trying my best to hold her intense gaze without wavering. Her hatred was mirroring Divine's, they both had the same look in their eyes whenever I tried to speak against them. "But I did not ever hurt your brother! For all we know he could still be alive in the Arcadia Movement!"

She laughed once more, a terrible sound in the otherwise quiet battlefield around us. "Nice try Black Rose, but if my brother were alive he would have contacted me by now!" She studied her hand, preparing her strategy to defeat me. Although my faith for myself and for the person who had shown me my path was shaking, I continued to fight back.

Just like with Divine. Would this attempt fail as well?

"Misty.. that's not necessarily true! I didn't contact my parents while I was staying with Divine! I didn't think of them at all!" I tried to reason with her even though I knew it wouldn't work.

"That's because you're a heartless Witch!" she replied, shouting at me without raising her voice. "You don't understand the love between siblings and family, you never could!"

"That's not true!" I shouted back, desperate to defend myself. First Divine and now Misty? Was Yusei the only person in the world who actually saw good in me while I was wearing my mask? "I love Mama and Papa!"

"That's a lie," she answered plainly, as if I was a child suggesting that the sky was pink. "Whatever it is you feel for your parents isn't love. If it was, you wouldn't have left them worrying about you, wondering if you were alive or dead, for a long amount of time. That's not love, that's hate."

My arguments fell silent, my throat constricted with anger and frustration. She was right; I had hated my parents for a long time, for sixteen lonely years. But it was because I loved them that I hated them... and that was still love... right?

What kind of monster didn't love their parents?

Misty's glare increased with her sudden sadistic smile, her long fingers glowing in the dim light around us. The gem dangling at the center of her forehead sparkled in the shifting light, and the marks on her face glowed bright purple.

"Well Black Rose, maybe I should show you the suffering you've caused me! Then maybe you will remember the life you ruined!" she cried, pointing her finger at me. She activated her first card, and before I could even make out what it was, the fire around me grew brighter and brighter until it had me blinded, surrounded, and trapped in its heat...

Then I was standing in Misty's apartment, watching her stare at the clock on the wall with shaking hands. A small phone was in those, and she was rapidly dialing a number in it. Her fingers were bleeding; she must have been hitting the keys all night long.

I didn't move, didn't know what to do. What was going on here?

She raised the phone to her ear and swiveled around to look at the door behind me. Her eyes were red with hours of endless worried tears, and they didn't seem to notice my presence.

My mark burned.

The phone beeped and she started sobbing into the receiver. "Please pick up! Please come home! Where are you? Please, please, God, be alright! Where are you? When did you leave? Please come back to me! Please come bask home!"

More sobs. She flipped the phone shut and then threw it against the wall where it shattered into tiny complicated pieces. She screamed out her sorrows into the large room, grinding her hands into her famous face. "God, please bring him home safe! He's the only family I have left! I love him so much! God, please, please!"

"Misty..." I whispered, finally understanding. This was her pain and suffering that made her into a Dark Signer. This was the night her brother disappeared.

She stood up abruptly, smashing a vase as she made her way through the room and into an adjacent space. I followed her, walking straight through her couch as if I was connected to her by invisible chains. She was in a messy blue room that was covered with posters of Jack Atlas and a few drawings of... well... me. The Black Rose Witch standing tall against a carefully doodled picture of a little boy and Misty. The Black Rose Witch using her powers to save Misty from driving off a cliff. The Black Rose Witch and her signature Dragon.

I stared at all the posters, fitting together the pieces. He had been obsessed with Jack, which was normal enough, but an obsession with me? The haunted duelist who could make duel monsters come to life and used her powers to hurt people?

But in the pictures, he drew me as good person, someone who saved his sister and who tag-dueled against them. Shaking my head, I examined the rest of his room while Misty tore apart his dresser drawers, searching for something. My eyes wandered to the computer, where there was a page on the screen that read "Arcadia Movement, a home to psychics everywhere" in bold letters. My eyes widened. He had been researching the Movement? My eyes fell on the notepad next to the laptop and began deciphering the young boy's chicken scrawl.

I gave up when Misty literally stepped into me and scrolled down the screen, her eyes widening in disbelief. "Oh God," she began again, putting her hand over her mouth. "He's trying to find her, the Black Rose. I've got to go, that Witch is dangerous! She's usually around the Damon area... oh God... not my little brother... please..."

She ran out of the room, missing the fact that the boy's bed was missing a post. I frowned at that, noting how the wood looked as if it had been bitten off by something before the chains connecting the two of us jerked me forward, down the elevator, and into Misty's car.

She drove like a woman possessed, breaking every single law I had ever been taught and only hitting the brakes once she was at her destination. It was a wonder she could even see past the tears in her eyes.

She jumped out of her car and locked it absent-mindedly, running to the closest thug and asking if he had seen a little boy around here.

"Little kid? This ain't no place for kids. The Black Rose Witch just finished tearing up a part of this place, go check there," he answered, pointing her to the direction of my last destructive duel. She ran off, her heels clicking loudly against the concrete. The tears just kept falling down her face like little stars in the midnight moon. I followed her in silence, hoping that her brother really was alive. All of this sorrow...

She reached the place that I had destroyed, took in the missing chunks from the buildings, the concrete shards splashed across the arena like discarded paper, the criminals as they helped each other up after my departure. My heart clenched as I viewed all of this destruction. At the time, I remembered it feeling so good to let out my anger and hatred on people who hated me back. I had loved feeling their fear and misery; I had loved being its cause. Now I just felt sick.

"Excuse me!" Misty called, approaching two men supporting each other, their arms wrapped around the other's shoulders as they limped unsteadily around. "Have you seen a little boy that looks like me? Please tell me you have!"

The shorter man appraised her. "Is he your kid?"

Misty's lips tightened. "Little brother."

The other contemplated things for a moment and then answered, "Yeah, there was a kid hanging around while the Witch dueled. I lost sight of him after she was finished killing us off though. I think he went in an alley to sneak away, and I'm pretty sure I saw someone in a cloak go after him. The Witch probably got him."

Misty stood there, her jaw open wide, hands trembling. A fury seemed to overtake her and she brought up her hand, smacking the man in the face with all the force she could muster. "Why didn't you go after him?!"

"Ouch lady! What the hell is your problem?!" he replied, putting his free hand up to his stinging cheek. "No body who takes on the Witch lives! It was my life or his, and he might have gotten away!"

She brought up her hand again, fierce and broken in the moonlight, but then turned and ran down the alley that the man had gestured to. His friend whistled lowly as I chased after her, muttering, "Ain't it always the pretty ones that are crazy?"

I didn't want to see any more of this, I had a pretty good feeling what was about to happen. Misty had said in our previous duel that she had nearly died in an 'accident'. But based on everything that I was seeing here...

She screamed when she saw the state of the alley, the ruins, the giant claw marks raking its walls. Then she saw the blood sprayed against the dead end and fell to her knees, crawling the rest of the way. Her dress caught on nails and shattered glass, but she didn't care. Her hand, trembling, touched the bloodied wall and then picked out a shape stuck in the sticky mess. A dueling card.

"Oh no no no, God no!" she shouted, pulling the card close to her chest, staining it and her hands. "His prized card! Oh God no! No! No! NO!" She screamed again, drawing attention from the men loitering around outside. They didn't approach her like Aki expected them to, they just watched from a distance, watched this woman cry her heart out to a wall splashed with blood and her brother's favorite card. Then they left her alone.

_Mistakes._

I knew what being alone could do to a person; I knew the twisted thoughts that were running through Misty's head as she slowly rose to her feet and dragged her heels all the way back to her car, which by some small miracle hadn't been stolen. Mechanically, she turned the key in the ignition, her eyes suddenly void of tears and life.

Because she was all alone. No one would care if she was gone.

_Consequence._

She drove, and I was flung up, out of the car, forced to watch from the sky above her as she drove out to the sea. Clicking on her safety belt to make sure that she wouldn't float out of her car and to safety, Misty neared the sharp turns that made up the nicer part of the coastline. It had to look like an accident of course, what if she survived by some horrible mistake? How would she explain it?

Then—wait. There would be no one to explain it to.

She was alone.

_Silence._

The wind tore at her long hair as she picked up speed, driving closer and closer to the cliffs. I braced myself, tried to close my eyes as the car collided and split the safety rail, but couldn't look away from the sight of Misty trying to end her life.

Because of me.

The car fell for a long time, and she let out her final screams, everything that she held flying upwards, falling slowly after her. The car hit the water with impossible force, crumpling its front engine like a soda can. I watched the water consume Misty's limp form, watched the blood drip from the center of her forehead and mix with the saltwater. And I watched someone jump in the water and pull her out a few minutes later, the screeching of tires following soon after.

It was a Security Officer, I noted, that broke the surface with her mangled body and shriveled soul. He spluttered out water and handed her over to the emergency vehicles he had brought with him. Misty was immediately rushed into the ambulance and taken away, CPR starting in the back of the car.

"Thank God for that anonymous tip," Misty's unwanted savoir commented, accepting a towel from his fellow officer. "I wasn't sure about following a kid's directions, but I'm glad I did in the end..."

I couldn't listen anymore, for I was flying with the ambulance, listening to the organized chaos that was medicine. They shocked her a few times, and her heart began to beat weakly. But the light in her wide open eyes had yet to return, even though her body breathed.

"Hang in there Misty," one of the doctors said, patching up her forehead.

"That'll leave a scar," the other noted dryly, cleaning up the blood on her arms. "Do you think she'll be able to model with a scar the size of a popcorn kernel on her forehead?"

"She'll cover it up somehow," he answered, taking her pulse and frowning at her eyes. "Come on now, fight it."

"Her jewel," I muttered to myself, horrified and enraptured by the scene folding out in front of me. This could have easily been me.

They arrived at the hospital quickly thanks to the loud sirens, and now there were even more people transferring her around on her stretcher, encouraging her to hold on. But she didn't want to hold on. Waking up would mean accepting the world without her place; without her family or anyone else to love her. It would be waking up in a living hell anyway. What was the purpose of it?

I watched as Misty's pulse dropped steadily on the monitors, fueled by her will to die. Then I heard it, the voice that Misty claimed to have spoken to while she was dying. I looked into her eyes and saw what she saw, the lizard as it leapt from above and crawled into her soul.

_Crowded._

_"Kill the Black Rose Witch, the servant of the Crimson Dragon, the one who is responsible for your brother's death. It is the only way for you to avenge him, the only way for you to make him happy. Live to kill her, my precious warrior, in order to please your brother's tortured spirit..."_

The voice was oddly familiar, as if I had heard it myself in a long ago dream, changed by time and circumstance. But it was evil; it was asking her to murder me because I killed her brother, even when I didn't do it! It was calling for an eye for an eye, it was telling her to corrupt her soul! I gasped, putting my hand over my mouth and longing for a release from all of these spiraling emotions.

The answer came from the small part of her that was still conscious, but still very much dead.

_Yes._

And just like that, I was back in real time, back with the monster Misty had become to take revenge on the wrong person, to be used by the people she thought would provide her with her home.

_My dear God._

Misty was exactly the same as me.

And just as I was about to pour my own story out to her, to try and reach her past the layers of hatred and grief she had built around her, Divine made his move. It caught me completely off-guard. I had all but forgotten about his presence during Misty's revealing sad story, and thus I couldn't even defend myself before he had taken my will and thrown me in a dark corner.

The last thing I heard was my voice behind his words.

"Yes, Misty, of course I remember your brother. Do you know he has this habit when you torture him? He always bites the inside of his cheek and gasps a bit... just like you're doing now."

* * *

**(1) *grins sheepishly* I think I jumped the gun for real this time with Aki/Yusei**

**I'm going to sleep now. Please review to tell me if you are all still enjoying this story...**

**Peace**

**~AxJfan**


	5. Bereavement

**I'm sorry that this took so long for me to do, but my last two weeks of school meant that I spent every waking second either studying or doing a project of some sorts. **

**The whole Divine thing was an issue for me too, I didn't know how to get rid of him. I know Yusei wouldn't kill him, it's against Yusei's character to directly take someone's life. And Aki was under his control, so I couldn't do the poetic justic of having her off him...**

**Basically it took me a while to figure out what to do with him.**

**But now summer's here and I can get right back on track with my updates. Thanks for being patient!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own 5ds.**

**Oh, by the way, this is part 1 of episode 61, part 2 is the next chapter. It was too long to make just one chapter.**

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* * *

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**Chapter 5**

**Third Person POV**

**Inside the Sky Temple**

_"Seventeen years ago, I opened Pandora's Box. And, I entrusted you with that last hope, along with my left arm!"_

He stared at said object as his brother's words rang through his ears, waiting for either the arrival of Yusei or the moment when the Head Mark would light up. The eerie light of the Sky Temple cast his eyes in strange shadows, fixated on the last amount of life in the once Signer's body.

_"My body will not last for much longer, but before anything happens, the Signers, guided by the Crimson Dragon, or the Dark Signers, guided by the God of the Underworld—Who shall be the Creator and who shall be the God of Destruction? I must see that through."_

Unblinking, his focus devolved deeper into his own conscious—he must rid himself of it if he were to attain what he wanted. The power curling within his rib cage screeched angrily, coiling in impatience, demanding the sacrifice of the leader of the Signers.

Because with that power...

_"The account of seventeen years ago still lives. Dr. Fudo's will goes on within his son, Yusei Fudo. Rex... If I'm defeated, tell me of that account."_

He had seen the Mark of the Crimson Dragon over the place where Yusei and Rudger had fallen as he flew away on the helicopter. He knew this meant that one of them had been protected by the power of the Creator, one of them had been chosen. He had always known.

Typically, the leader would be represented by the head, and this was often misinterpreted to be the most important mark of the entire dragon. Wrong. The tail was just as important, it was the mechanism of balance, the stabilizer in flight and in movement in general, and a deadly weapon that whipped with unbelievable speed and force. Arguably, the head was still more important; without it the dragon would certainly die—but it would be a noble and valiant death. Without the tail the dragon would be vulnerable and unsteady, weakened and graceless. It would die on the ground on swaying feet.

But did it really matter which one of them was the true leader of the Signers?

Rudger had been chosen by both powers already, he had already fulfilled the requirement of a Signer sacrificed to the darkness... but did it count if that person was only present in the form of his left arm?

If Yusei Fudo did not come, then he would find out. He preferred that sacrifice, the one who had tumbled into Momentum based on his last demand to Rudger, the one who might truly come back from the dead. No new Nazca lines had vanished if the boy had opened his eyes in the hands of fate, and it had been the Crimson Dragon's mark that surrounded the area of his departure.

_"Brother, I have been thinking for the past seventeen years and have come to one conclusion. It's a new possibility—one unbeknownst to even you."_

His own words now, echoing over the deserted place of worship. Yes, he, the 360th Star Guardian, had finally unraveled the true horrors of the Nazca lines, the power that was truly sealed by the Crimson Dragon, the Creator, all those years ago.

_"New possibility?"_

Rudger hadn't known, even with all of his knowledge of the Signers and his position of power in the Dark Signers. It had taken himself seventeen years to uncover the truth, using his political power as Director to solve the mystery to its fullest extent, exploiting his position in the Signer's legend to access the secrets in the first place.

_"You are about to bear witness to it."_

And then he had told his brother, told him so that he could set up what fate called for them to do. They were bound by blood, it was etched in their very souls to help one another, to be on the same side after all—although Goodwin would like to think that he was on his own side, something that no one had ever even considered as they battled across the Satellite.

He had died willingly, charged into a battle that could only be lost so that he could...

He didn't have to pick a side. He could have both of them.

That was the truth Momentum has showed him all of those years ago when it ripped off his arm and forced him to be an outcast in Satellite. The vision it had given him with all of its might—the sight of a man more powerful than God. And that man had been himself. It had all led up to this moment. The building of the bridge, his escape towards the city, the gathering of his Signers...

Now all he had to do was wait... and he was a very patient man. He had waited seventeen years for this moment; a few more minutes couldn't hurt. Somewhere in the mansion a clocked ticked on, the pulsing beat synching with the steady rhythm of his heart.

The third hand was fate, the second tragedy, the first death.

Everything else was in order, and if Yusei didn't show, if he didn't revive from the trap he and Rudger had forced him to fall into...

He still had his brother's memory to sacrifice. His soul had already been deceived by the hand's of his fate, it did not matter whether or not Yusei would show his face. Everything was already pre-written. He would rise no matter what choice the teen made, and his brother's arm would be used as a stepping stone to achieve his ultimate destiny.

The unwavering light from the container about to be broken gave off an illusion that time was standing still, holding Its very breath for the moment when It would bow down to Its new ruler—Its King.

The mark lit, throwing the shadows back and breaking the trance. His mechanical arm swung out and glass littered the floor. The Fifth Signer was no more—and so much more.

The hands of time continued to tick on, undisturbed.

* * *

**Yusei POV**

Sunset was drawing nearer and nearer. I could actually see the bottom of the sun under the thick ozone of pollution above Satellite. Aki would be pressed for time if she didn't start her fated duel soon. I knew she would come out victorious, but would it be in time?

"Oh," Crow said suddenly, breaking the determined silence between us with his loud voice. "Yusei, I almost forgot to tell you. Goodwin wanted you to go find him if you beat his brother."

I raised an eyebrow, turning in my seat to face him. "Why? Where did you meet him?"

He pulled up next to me, shrugging. "I don't know. He was down in the lab areas for some reason, said that he was saying goodbye to his brother one last time or something."

"And you talked to him?"

That was peculiar. Goodwin expressed virtually no interest in any non-Signers that didn't work for him. Crow shrugged, looking around him at the landscape beginning to be bathed in twilight's colors.

"Yeah," he answered like it was no big deal. "Well it wasn't really a talk I guess. More of a 'ok we're stuck in this hell-hole so let's interrogate each other' kind of thing."

"So are you going to go?" Rua piped up from the car, giving me a look that obviously meant he didn't want me to. I cast my gaze past the oceans' unruly waves and towards the center of the city, where the Sky Temple was waiting for me. He might have answers to what had happened to me within my Father's light. Goodwin might be able to provide me with the end to this deadly game, so that I could stop where this was taking us.

But I didn't trust him enough to tell him, and my instincts were screaming at me that it was horrible idea to do so. Besides, I couldn't leave my friends in their time of need. I wasn't in my nature. I sighed heavily, releasing the hope of an understanding from my mind. I'd figure it out in my own time.

"No, he'll have to wait. Supporting Aki is much more important than dealing with Goodwin," I answered, returning my attention to the road.

Ushio sighed to himself. "He won't like that..."

Crow suggested happily that Goodwin could just do something anatomically impossible to himself in response, earning a surprised giggle from Ruca and a blank stare from Rua. I smiled at them, glad they were getting along so well together. Ushio opened his mouth to tell Crow off about using such language in front of children (too bad he didn't know that Crow raised children for a living) when several things happened at once.

First, the Lizard Mark flamed into existence in the distance, casting a purple glow on the gray clouds.

Second, our Marks lit up simultaneously, commanding total attention and silence.

Third, the King's presence vanished in a fit of rage that took me by complete surprise. The power of the Crimson Dragon's Mark must have repelled him, for he was screeching, filling my head with his hair-raising voice, obliterating all other notions of thought.

Blackness covered my eyes as he gouged his claws deep into my soul, dragging them along as he was forced out, slicing it to ribbons as he exited. Desperate and blind to the world, I threw more light at him, trying to extinguish the shadows he was leaving, but he continued to thrash, taking all of my strength with one final blow to my heart, scattering its pieces in my mind.

The senses I still had were hyperaware, I could smell the death in the air as my hands slipped from the steering. I heard a gasp as it escaped my very soul and combined with the screams of my friends. I lost control of my D-Wheel and was unable to regain it.

Then there were dizzying turns in the darkness, wobbling ground beneath me, the grab of a different kind of blackness, foul-smelling wind plastered against my face, the frenzied pummeling of my heart against my chest, the agony of a slow death, and then a warm body beside me, a hand pushing mine away.

"Yusei! Yusei, open your eyes!"

Crow. I tried to obey his command, blinking my eyelids open unsteadily, although it had no effect on virtually anything. I sensed his left hand take control of my machine and felt our combined momentum slowly come to a halt over the blinding pain. Hands pulled me off the D-Wheel and onto the more uncomfortable ground, voices screaming at me over his.

A small, warm hand forced its way into my fists, attached to a soft frightened female voice. "Just hold onto my hand Yusei, whatever happens, don't let go. It'll b-be alright i-if you just don't let go."

Then something was clawing at my chest from the outside as well, trying to dig past the fabric of my shirt to get at the skin. They pulled it back and I doubled over clutching my bleeding wounds with my other arm, the one with Ruca's Signer hand in it.

I counted the seconds, trying to distract myself from everything else, forcing the weeping of my ravaged soul away, convincing myself that it wasn't a part of me, that it'd be fine. Time ticked on, taunting me with its cold shoulder.

There were strange blobs of gray on black in my vision, forming a hazy fog around my mind, blocking out any feeble sunlight that I had left. I could feel the strength leave my arms, legs, and soul as it continued to bleed. The hand was slipping from my grip idly, and I could feel my eyelids fluttering shut. But I couldn't... I had to fight...

It was too hard to form a thought past the blackness.

The tiny hand squeezed, jolting a memory forward from the black sky. _Wrong. Cold. Pain._

But this was different, I recognized, it was warm and the agony it gave... wasn't directed at me. It was the other hand's pain that I was feeling as it was torn away from me—it wasn't my second death, I wouldn't let it be.

"Yusei!" the voices called again, the grip tightening on me, scratching away the black shadows blocking their faces from my sight. Feebly, I channeled my remaining strength into holding onto that hand, refusing to let go of the people that kept me anchored to the earth.

The chaos stretched on for another 300 seconds. It finally disappeared with one final being-shaking scream, and the haze slowly dissappated from my gaze, leaving my grip slack and my chest heaving in air. Their worried faces swam back into focus for yet another time tonight, their faces white with fear and concern. I nodded at them, unable to smile past everything and their complexions began to return, but their eyes stayed the same.

I released Ruca's hand and felt a pang of guilt when she pulled it close to her chest and rubbed it gently. My voice was hoarse and scarce, as if I had been yelling out my suffering to the sky. Maybe I had. "Did... did I hurt you?"

It was such an effort to force out those words.

"No," she replied quickly, putting her hands down on her knees and biting her lip like she always did when worried.

"What just happened to you?" Ushio asked, holding my upper half by the shoulders, his frown making the scar on his cheek bunch up strangely. I shook my head in response, putting my hands to my temples to ease away the throbbing headache the King left behind.

"I don't know," I replied honestly, getting to my feet slowly and confidently. My body ached all over from the bruises of today's trials, but I could manage well enough now that... was he gone? "But it doesn't matter; we have to push on regardless."

"Are you insane?!" the Security Officer shouted, standing to grab me by the collar of my shirt, a favorite habit of his it would seem. I looked him patiently in the eye, waiting for him to let me go as he always did. His grip didn't waver.

"Ushio, we have to go. Aki may need our help, and every second that we waste here is a second closer to the revival of the King of the Underworld," I explained patiently, regaining my proper volume and putting one of my gloves stained with my blood on his hand.

"Yusei, what's going on with you?" he asked, ignoring my answer, shaking me even. I blinked at him, quickly pulling the mask that would protect them over my face. His eyes slanted dangerously and he shook me again, much to the protest of Crow and the twins. His strength rattled my weakening body, but I didn't let it show. I had to be strong for them. "Don't give me that crap, punk! The fact that you've even got to pull out that cold look means that you know something, so out with it!"

"Cold look?" I inquired, dodging the subject and regaining my stamina. "Ushio, the only thing I know is that there's something wrong."

"What, is your mark telling you that?" he demanded, nearly spitting in my face with all of his foaming frustration. Calmly, I shoved the red glove in his face and let him take it in.

"Eh?" He blinked at it without comprehension, only tightening his grip to show that he wasn't going to let me go until I spilled my guts. I don't think he understood that that's what I've been doing for this entire day. I took in a deep breath, closing my eyes and dropping my shield.

"No, it's my head Ushio. I don't know how it is that I'm still alive right now, I don't know what's going to happen with the King of the Underworld, I don't know why I just nearly passed out," I explained, keeping my voice neutral. "But I understand that they are all connected to each other somehow, and if any of us want to find answers, we must first defeat the Dark Signers and then find Goodwin. Together we can find the truth; together we can illuminate even the darkest corners of lies with our combined light."

I looked back up at him after I finished. We continued to stare each other down, his righteous anger wavering slightly, as if his eyes were a puddle of anger and I had just dropped in a stone. "You call what just happened to you 'nearly passing out'?" More ripples in his resolve, he believed me even though he didn't want to. "You nearly crushed Ruca's arm you were in so much agony. You were screaming like you were about to die. You can't soften this blow for us Yusei; you have to let us know what's wrong."

I shook my head, slowly and deliberately. "I just told you, I don't know what's going on."

Aggravatingly, it was so true.

Finally, he let me go, an almost embarrassed look on his face. Awkwardly, he returned to the car and the twins loaded in after him, ping-ponging between the two of us. Crow handed me my helmet, which he had taken off of me at some point, and didn't let the worry show on his face.

He forced a grin and said, "I'm kinda hoping that we have to beat the answers out of this guy, how 'bout you Yusei?"

I agreed silently.

* * *

**Divine POV**

I watched her. I took her in. I gave her power. I accepted her.

And this is how she repays me?! She runs off with that other man and joins the group I warned her to stay away from; joins Goodwin and his Signers?!

I bit into my glove as I watched her duel, alone. Alone without my guidance, but she didn't waver. Where was the fragile face that I had first met? Where was all of her dark beautiful rage? Where was the destruction that I had taught her, the deadly powers that we crafted to rule over the world? Oh where was my Black Rose Witch?

My teeth finally cut through the leather and hit my flesh, the taste of my own blood sour on my tongue. I only bit harder, trying to escape from this horrible mess that she had made of my perfect life, my plans. Stupid wench, Aki was never supposed to even exist. It was always the Black Rose; she was the one that I loved... if love is an appropriate term for the dark rush of affection I felt whenever she played a card.

But Aki had betrayed me, had betrayed my beautiful Black Rose Witch, and had betrayed my entire Movement. And what was the one thing I taught her with every breath she took from me, every bridge she had burned for me?

A traitor only deserved to suffer and die at the feet of those betrayed. We would make the world suffer, I had told her, until they were begging for forgiveness.

And we'd refuse.

So I would make her suffer for every wrong she has done to me. It is the only thing I've ever known, pleasure from another's pain. And what was the best way to make Aki ache until she got down on her shaking knees and begged for unattainable forgiveness?

"Attack," it was a whisper, words with barely enough life in it to even exist. But my monster heaved itself up regardless, blasting the rough land around the duelists. I smiled past my thumb, only spilling more poison down my chin. "Attack. Attack. Attack! ATTACK!"

My monsters, the only trustworthy creatures in this entire world, obeyed my commands flawlessly, raising the earth into spikes and walls of rock, a maze around my dead beloved. She paid no heed to me, ignoring my existence and staring into the purple flames as if they were the ones that saved her.

_"He already has Divine! Now either tell me the truth or leave me alone!"_

I spat out the leather and flesh, standing from my position on the Lizard Tower and turning my gaze to the west, to the place where death whispered to me as it approached on a red D-Wheel.

I would make them all suffer; I would destroy them all and revive my Witch with one duel. I would start with that girl she brought with her, she would be excellent bait. And that damned Fudo can't resist helping a distressed person; he'd walk right into my hands. He'd be my first death.

The images that Aki had thrown at me bubbled to the surface of my mind before I could push them away. All of those blasted feelings that were keeping her fighting... they were from him. She was walking down the wrong path, and it was time I forced her back onto mine by ending his.

"Attack!"

A pit opened up in the dusty earth, split by my power and my monsters' loyalty. A pipe burst beneath our might, spilling salt water from the sea into the hole. A smile found me, mirth twisting in my throat as my plans folded out. Drowning, a very long and very confining death. Fudo would feel fear like no other, and he'd be powerless to save himself or the girl as I laughed from above.

His eyes would be fixated on me; he'd have nowhere else to look, as his last breath shook in his body, as his brain starved on water, as his soul was trapped in the current. The last thing he'd see was my cruel smile carrying him to hell.

Ah, the star would die underground.

A laugh broke through and echoed around the close walls of my maze, ignored by the still duelists on the field. I turned my attention on the two wenches, listening keenly to Aki's sporadic thoughts and Misty's deep hatred. Too bad she's unaware that she's been fed lies by her own organization. Too bad her important person was never dead in the first place. Too bad she's only facing herself. Too bad, too bad.

Oh the dusk was full of irony tonight.

She had returned now, I noted, as her attention shifted back to the Dark Signer. I grinned, now was the time to begin my plans, to revive her dormant power that I had sealed within her from the very first day I met her.

It was time for us to revive my Movement and kill Aki once and for all. Now just for those simple words that had been whispering in my ear for all of my life. Just one sentence and the seal would be broken. They slipped off my lips gently, a contrast to the effect it had on her precious bridges.

_"The entrance to the Underworld lies on the Witch's island."_

* * *

**Yusei POV**

"Well, shit!" Crow announced as we pulled to a stop at the entrance to what seemed to be a giant maze. I agreed with him as I took in the jagged fortress enveloping the Lizard Mark.

"Aki," I muttered, touching the burning mark on my arm.

"Is it bothering you again Yusei?" Ruca whispered, leaning away from her shocked brother to be discreet. I removed my hand and shook my head, looking at her with as much reassurance as I could muster up.

"It's not that," I replied, unable to stop my hand from touching the irritated skin again. She raised her eyebrow dubiously but let it be.

"We'll split up," I offered as Ushio poked around the three different branches. Their attention returned to me quickly, doubt present in all of their expressions. "It's the fastest way to find Aki and Mikage."

They nodded reluctantly, Ruca and Rua departing down the middle path with only murmured "Good Lucks" and tiny nervous smiles. Ushio shrugged and jogged down the path to the right, immediately calling out Mikage's name.

I turned to my brother and comrade, recognizing the look in his wild eyes. I put both of my hands on his shoulders and just stood there, staring into his soul. "Go, Crow. I know you want to find your kids and make sure they're all right."

He frowned and then laughed, stepping out of my reach and offering up his hand one last time. "Am I really that predictable? I'll be back when they're all settled, you can bet on that."

With a heavy hearts we completed our personal handshake, smiling at each other through it all. This was the last time I would ever see Crow again in life, this was the last smile we could share, the last time we could pound our fists and call each other brother.

"Good luck," I whispered, withdrawing my hand from his. He hesitated, his hands twitching towards his coat, before he reached into an inner pocket and pulled out a bent and faded piece of paper. Eyes gray, he passed it over to me without saying anything, his quiet unusual.

I unfolded it without comment, and stared down into the eyes of the man I had just seen in hell. My father, smiling, happy, arms wrapped around a pretty brunette woman, who was holding a baby boy with black hair. I felt my hands shake without seeing them, all of my focus on the happy image, the haunting reminder of what had and could've been.

My family, my flesh and blood. I looked up at him, unable to find the proper words for yet another time tonight. I could only manage a choked, "Thank you."

He nodded awkwardly and walked away with a wave of his hand, as if unsure if he should have given me a picture that reminded me of the lives Momentum had taken—the guilt that hovered over me. I watched him, still as a statue, as he mounted Blackbird and took his final glance at me. His shadow stretched long in the fading sunlight, nearly reaching my feet.

"Yusei!" he shouted finally, revving his engine loudly. Silently, he preserved my image in his mind. He comprehended enough to know that my time was short in the very least. Touching his fist to his chest, right over his heart, he made that infamous smirk at me. "Give 'em hell!"

A thumbs up was given in response. Satisfied, he drove away, leaving behind the dust and my grateful tears. I watched him shrink into the distance until I could only see his shadow stretching thin behind him.

Wiping at my eyes hastily, I entered the maze of rock, taking the path to the left. Alone.

I ran through the tunnels just because I could, desperate to feel the wind in my hair one last time, needing to see the face of Aki before it was all over. I had to find her, had to make her understand somehow that everything that was about to happen wasn't her fault.

"Aki! Aki!"

Her name echoed off the walls encasing me, taunting me with their emptiness. I pressed on; taking arbitrary turns and feeling sweat fall from my forehead. Blood rushed through my veins as I picked up speed, my muscles screamed protests at my aching head, the gravel crunched beneath my feet, and my breath came out steady and loud.

I felt so _alive. _

Dodging around a particularly unsteady section of rock, I climbed up onto a chunk embedded in the earth to try and see around me... and to catch my breath. Was this proof that I was truly and honestly alive? The only difference between my body then and my body now is the lack of a crushed ribcage. How could I tell if I was truly marked by the Dead or if I had been saved by my father?

"Look out! It's dangerous!"

I jerked out of my stupor as the new voice cut through the air like a knife. I turned, my body already reacting before my mind processed the portion of wall about to crush me flat. Adrenaline pounded through my veins as I dove to the side, my gloves tearing on the hard ground as my weight pushed off them. New scratches for my collection. I hit the deck rolling, only coming to a stop when I heard the definite crash of concrete on concrete.

My heart beat wildly in my chest.

"Are you alright?!"

I jerked my head over to the voice and saw a person clambering around the jagged mess that would have been me. I tensed at his presence, concealed by a thick jacket, sunglasses, and a tan hat. He must have sensed my uncertainty because he pulled out an ID from an inner pocket of his trench coat.

"It's alright; I'm here on Director Goodwin's orders. I already know all about the Signers and such."

I relaxed when I saw the ID, my first mistake. Not making him show me the picture inside was my second. Trusting him was my third. As I walked with him, taking paths that called to me and assuring him that Aki could handle her duel with Misty, they started to pick up speed and crash into each other. Their momentum began to carry them even farther ahead than I could imagine when we came across a decent sized clearing in the maze, a pit in the center covered by an out-of-place steel hatch.

"What's this?" I cried, racing across it to see Mikage passed out below. A sharp intake of breath and then I was calling her name, denying the stillness of her body. A death? Mikage? Had they been separated somehow? "Mikage! Mikage!"

_"Fireball!"_

I whipped back around just in time to see a miniature sun hurling towards me. I dodged without thinking, my heart thudding n its cage once more. Heat blew my sweat-soaked bangs from my face and left a scorching mark in the solid rock to my back. Stunned, I returned to my feet and stared at the man, his hands over his duel disk triumphantly.

Psycho-Duelist.

The consequences of my mistakes might just be our lives.

"What are you doing?!" I demanded, glancing at Mikage below, even more fearful for her life. If this man was a psychic duelist there was no telling what he did to her. "Don't you know that if we don't stop the last Dark Signer by sunset the world will end?!"

"I don't care about that type of thing!" he replied, activating another card from his deck quickly. His hand extended to its full extent, fingers closing around the hilt of a brilliant glowing sword. "The only type of world that will be left after this duel is one ruled by me!"

He came at me with surprising speed and capable hands, swinging the sword around to cut me in half. I raised my duel disk in reaction, using it as a make-shift shield. The hard metal held strong against the sword, even as the opposing man utilized his height and forced me down further.

"Aki is mine!"

Realization dawning in my eyes, I gathered my flickering strength and shoved him back, taking a stand. But it couldn't be who I thought it was... Aki was certain that Divine had died, she had watched him die, she told me. But then who was this?

"Who are you?!" I called, preparing myself for his second rush. He laughed as he charged me, a sick sound in the dusk air.

"Your murderer!" he announced, bringing down his weapon just as hard as the first time. I defended myself the same way, and our objects collided in a shower of sparks. But then he pulled something new, something I hadn't expected. He used the momentum I countered his blow with to spin himself around. Before I could even flinch the hilt of the sword connected with my right side, at the exact same place that Kiryu's duel had stabbed me.

My vision went red as blood filled my mind, screaming with agony. The scar that had been left by that duel throbbed angrily, and I doubled over, unable to draw a proper breath. Something connected with my face and I was flying, soaring, and then falling.

The ground was so hard.

"Hahaha! You don't stand a chance against my power Yusei! Now there's nothing you can do to save her!" he laughed, closing the hatch. I couldn't move. I could only clutch at my side and pant out my weakness. "Hahaha! _Fireball!_"

The opening was melted shut, and then he departed, swearing that he was going to find the others and take care of them in similar fashions until it was only him and his Black Rose Witch that stood alive.

Tentatively, I reached down and pulled up my shirt, checking my side and seeing that the long thin scar had remained closed. Relieved that one catastrophe had been avoided, I rolled over to my side and shook Mikage lightly, sighing when I saw the pulse beating in her neck and her eyes begin to stir.

Then the gravity of the scar hit me. I touched it again, looking down as she rolled over and opened her eyes blearily. I still had an injury—an unhealed one to boot—after my brush with death. What did this mean? If I had died in Momentum then my old self would have been torn to pieces, making it impossible for me to revive in that skin! My new body wouldn't have a scratch on it; it would be like a newborn.

Then... is it possible that I didn't actually...

"Yusei?" she moaned, staring up into my eyes as if she couldn't believe that I existed.

That made two of us.

* * *

**Ushio POV**

"Mikage! Mikage!" I shouted as I sprinted through random corridors, willing the power of my voice to reach her and the strength of my soul to guide me to her. "Damned maze. Mikage! Where are you?"

My voice echoed faintly down the paths, carrying my voice to wherever she was. Why of all things did there have to be a maze blocking our path to Aki and Mikage?! Whose dumb idea was this?! What purpose did something like a maze have in these supposed "fated duels" anyway?

Worn out, I stumbled to a halt, catching my breath with my hands on my knees. My scar itched annoyingly at the side of my face, but I ignored it to the best of my abilities, focusing of her, the beautiful Mikage. I was going to save her, I'd be her knight in shining armor, and I'd sweep her off her feet and she'd never even think about that Jack Atlas ever again.

I could imagine it now.

_"Oh, you dared to pass through the maze of horrors just to save me?" she cried, taking my hands and holding them between us. Her eyes glittered with passion and admiration and love and respect and trust... _

_"For you I'd do anything, my dearest," I replied, kissing the soft skin of her hands and smiling when she giggled._

_"Oh Ushio, let's get married right away! I love you so much!"_

I came back to reality hard, the blush on my face leaving when I remembered the actual gravity of this situation. Everyone could be in real danger now; some could actually be dead as I stand here and day dream about an unrequited love! It was my job as a Security Officer to protect innocent people from crime, and I had already failed once with Martha.

My fists clenched tightly at my sides, my heart still aching over her loss. She would come back because of Yusei's victory over Rudger, I was certain of that. But if one of us was lost to the maze, claimed by death by simpler means... there was no coming back from that.

_Except for Yusei it would seem._

"Nothing makes sense anymore! Agh!" I shouted to the sky, throwing my hands up and marching down another fork in my path. My eyes fell on a small brown wallet thing lying in the middle of the gray dirt. Curious, I walked over to it and picked it up. A security ID.

Mikage!

"What's this doing here?" I muttered to myself, pursing my lips. And then I saw it. Jack Atlas's face glowering up at me. "She has a picture of him in her ID?! Ack! I will never forgive you Jack Atlas!"

Then I heard it—heard her.

"Atlas-sama! Atlas-sama!"

_Why the hell was it always Jack?!_

* * *

**Mikage POV**

"Yusei?"

When I woke up... I just couldn't believe it. I was looking into Yusei's blue eyes, the eyes of the person that Aki was so afraid was dead. My first thought was of joy, certainly Aki could see that Yusei was fine now and she could duel without any distractions. But then I got confused.

Had I fallen asleep? Why was I wet? What was that sound?

"Are you alright?" Yusei asked as I took in the burst pipeline pouring salt water into the pit we were stuck in. I looked up and saw the metal grates trapping us in and just gasped, unable to process what was happening around me.

The water was just past my thighs now, and I panicked, clinging onto the teen before me with a scream. He stood up; pulling me with him, as the water rose faster and faster, taking us up with it. My skirt was muddy from lying in the dirt, my hair plastered to my face uncomfortably.

"What's going on?!" I cried, shifting my weight from foot to foot as if I could change the water level by standing on one instead of the other. He looked up in reply, anger crossing over his normally mellow face. I noticed that he flinched when I touched his right side and seemed to be favoring his left leg.

"A Psycho-Duelist just attacked the both of us and trapped us in here," his voice was surprisingly calm as our chests were claimed by the hungry waters. His eyes weren't afraid, like my own. They were constant, perhaps a bit contemplative as he evaluated our situation.

"Can't we just open the hatch when we get high enough?" I squeaked as my feet left solid ground. He gripped me around my shoulders, keeping the two of us afloat with his strength alone. My legs were paralyzed with undeniable fear, my thoughts scattering like fine dust in the wind.

"No, he sealed it shut," he replied. I looked up at him, not wanting him to tell the truth. Everyone always said that he was their source of hope in this world; why couldn't he just lie to me to give me that sense?

Because it was false, and from what I understood Yusei never lied to his friends. He only gave them true hope and light, he'd never fall back on lies just so that they could be sheltered from the cold reality.

"But our friends are still somewhere in the maze, they could find us," he continued, his eyes falling back to me, a dark light. The ceiling—or was it the ground?—approached from above, shrinking around us behind Yusei's black and blonde hair. My breath caught, there wasn't enough room left between us and death.

We were going to die.

"Atlas-sama!" the cry ripped itself from my throat with all of the volume that I usually lacked, desperate for him to come to save me, to rescue us both. And even if he couldn't force the hatch open in time, then at least I could fade away looking up at his handsome face. "Atlas-sama! Atlas-sama!"

I started kicking my legs to keep above the water, choking when I inhaled a mouthful of the bitter liquid. Yusei remained silent, his eyes fixed to the sky, his face strangely sad and happy at the same time. I continued to call out for my loved one as my fear overpowered everything else.

"Why aren't you calling?!" I yelled at him, fighting against the compressing walls around us, the suffocation that was coming before our heads even went under. He squeezed my shoulders gently and sighed, exhaling precious air. Wasting it!

"I don't have anyone to call out to."

My fear left me, replaced by astonishment, and then by concern. He was gazing upwards again, past our cage and into the bleak sky. What was it that was capturing his attention in those shades of gray?

My heart bled for him, for the lonely teen surrounded by people he loved and that loved him. And he would die without having someone to lean on for support when his strength left him. At least I thought I had Jack to depend on... but he didn't even think that he could lean on anyone...

I think I truly began to understand Dr. Fudo's son at this moment, just as death was about to snatch it out of my soon-to-be blue hands and unseeing eyes.

"Yusei..."

He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, preparing himself for the final frightening moments of both of our lives. Then he smiled and turned to me, reassuring in this dark and confined place. "It'll be alright, listen."

Over the roar of the tide consuming us, the harsh puffs of air leaving my exhausted lungs, and the calls of fatality... I heard footsteps. Hope surged from the darkest corner of my heart, flinging the walls that threatened me far, far away. Could it be?

Could he have finally come for me?

"Atlas-sama!"

"Mikage?!"

Officer Ushio ran right over us, coming to a halt and yelling out into the air.

"Below you Ushio!" Yusei called. We were close enough to the bars that Yusei could reach out and have his fingers brush the rusty metal.

"Officer Ushio!" I sounded as well, trying not to reveal my crushing disappointment or the rejection in my heart.

"The hatch!" Yusei shouted, keeping his arms around me as my legs struck out at invisible demons below us, waiting to claim our souls with their raking claws and slimy teeth.

The Security Officer acted quickly, pulling up at it with all of his might. It didn't budge. Dread washed through me with a cold wave as he departed, returning with a pole that looked as if it had been blasted off the pipe directing the water to kill us.

Jamming it between the melted hatch and the rest of the structure, Officer Ushio used it for leverage to try and wedge the door to life open. The pole bent under his weight and the hatch shook feebly, but it still didn't open. Fright made me gasp, my breath coming in short bursts in contrast to Yusei's steady ones.

It was all useless, we were going to die horribly... trapped below the ground... and I couldn't even see Jack once more before...

"Use your momentum Ushio!" Yusei called out suddenly, the top of his hair touching the cage. We bobbed dangerously up and down, threatening to disappear for good if he didn't save our lives.

The man pushed down even harder, screaming out of strain and frustration. His eyes locked with mine as he worked, pleading me to cling onto life. "Yusei... Mikage..."

He continued to pull and push and press down, begging all known powers with insistent mutterings to open the God-damned hatch. His language and devotion startled me, and I couldn't help but stare up at him as our faces were pressed into the hatch he was trying to open.

"Hang in there!" he demanded as he jammed the pole straight up and ran a good distance away. The water was at my chin, we couldn't go any higher now. Flecks of the torrent clung onto my eyelashes greedily, laughing at me. Hyperaware of every single drop in the area, I finally noticed the sweat gracing Ushio's brow and he sprinted forward with the strength and speed required of a Security Officer.

_That didn't make sense,_ I thought as I continued to hyperventilate. _Why would he be this soaked if he had just started running now...?_

One of Yusei's hands found my lips, and I turned to him, choosing not to comment on the taste of his gloves. He was still calm and collected, reminding me of a softer Jack in my final moments. "Calm down, it'll be ok. Take a deep breath."

Our faces pressed against the small holes in the metal, the rest of us claimed by the sea. He took a deep breath as it overflowed, and I followed suit to the best of my ability, taking in a small amount of water with me.

I forced my eyes to stay open in the sting of dirt and salt. Ushio may not be Jack, but he was trying with all of his heart to save us. It was still a small comfort to know that someone cared about my life enough to do all of this to try and save me. And what had I ever done for him other then be distanced? There was no reason why he should be begging God for our release; I hadn't been kind to him in the time that we were together. So why was he...?

Yusei's grip on me returned and we were ripped from the bars by the currents surrounding us. Screaming silently, I watched Ushio collide with the pole and snap the hatch open before we were lost in a dizzying swirl of blue and brown. My grip on Yusei slipped, and soon we were only connected by his hands on my wrists, tumbling weightless, losing our sense of up and down, his glowing mark the only source of light.

And then we slammed into the earthy wall.

My mouth opened as my air was knocked out of me, and I inhaled immediately, filling my lungs with destruction. I clutched at my throat, limbs struggling weakly around me, the brown water steadily turning black, my grip on scattered consciousness was fading along with the light from Yusei's mark, but then there were lips of mine, rough lips, and air was forced into my starving mouth. I drank it in eagerly and clutched the shape in front of me, blur on blurs.

Two sets of hands took me by the elbows and kicked against the force of the burst pipe, fought against the darkness that threatened our very existence. I didn't have enough to kick with them—I barely had enough to think.

Blue, black, brown...

A flash of greenish-gray... two scarred faces... two shades of hair color... rusty silver above us... why?

Then air—oh precious air. I was hauled upwards and landed unsteadily in a giant puddle of water. On my knees, I coughed out all of the water and mud that had been forced into my mouth, shivering from the icy encounter, and listened as two other people emerged from the death trap.

Yusei and Ushio.

They coughed for a few seconds as well, but they hadn't inhaled a lungful of water like I had. The men recovered quickly, the sound of their boots in the water startling and soothing at the same time. Someone said something in a whisper, and then one of them gasped.

I looked up in time to see Yusei disappear around a corner, resembling a soaked cat with his clothes and hair clinging to his form.

* * *

**Not the ending, continue onto the next chapter for part 2. I'm sorry that it ended on a random sentence, but this was the end of Mikage's POV anyway. She was hard to write for me... she's almost as bad as trying to write from Kiryu's POV pre-death.**

**~AxJfan**


	6. Star

**IMPORTANT: THIS IS PART TWO!! HIT THE BACK BUTTON BEFORE YOU START READING THIS. YOU MUST READ PART ONE FIRST.**

**IMPORTANT: THIS IS PART TWO!! HIT THE BACK BUTTON BEFORE YOU START READING THIS. YOU MUST READ PART ONE FIRST.**

**IMPORTANT: THIS IS PART TWO!! HIT THE BACK BUTTON BEFORE YOU START READING THIS. YOU MUST READ PART ONE FIRST.**

**IMPORTANT: THIS IS PART TWO!! HIT THE BACK BUTTON BEFORE YOU START READING THIS. YOU MUST READ PART ONE FIRST.**

******IMPORTANT: THIS IS PART TWO!! HIT THE BACK BUTTON BEFORE YOU START READING THIS. YOU MUST READ PART ONE FIRST.**

**********IMPORTANT: THIS IS PART TWO!! HIT THE BACK BUTTON BEFORE YOU START READING THIS. YOU MUST READ PART ONE FIRST.**

**************IMPORTANT: THIS IS PART TWO!! HIT THE BACK BUTTON BEFORE YOU START READING THIS. YOU MUST READ PART ONE FIRST.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own 5ds.**

**Light pairings ahead: Aki/Yusei, Ushio/Mikage, Mikage/Jack, Divine/Black Rose Witch (sort of)**

**

* * *

**

**Ushio POV**

Yusei approached me, his boots squeaking in the water beneath him. I watched him bend down to my level and stake my soul with his eyes.

I had always hated to look into the blue irises because of the naked feeling they gave me. I hated seeing the dull lights in his eyes, the far off stars in the night sky. I hated seeing the feigned cool indifference to everything going on around him.

But his eyes weren't like that now. The stars in his eyes weren't distant specks in the horizon. They shone with a strange and deadly light, urging me to believe in their radiance with my life. The indifference only glowed around the edges of his pupil, a dark warning around the black hole. The eyes that never smiled or frowned were remarkably soft and warm, welcoming me as if they were my home.

"If you were waiting for the perfect moment to tell her," he whispered, the lights twinkling dangerously behind his mask, "now is it."

I gaped at him openly; stunned to see the lights dim once more. He pushed himself up from his wet knees and marched past, leaving me with Mikage gasping for breath. He had known of my feelings for Mikage?! But how?

I frowned, unsure of whether or not to follow his advice. What did Yusei know about love?

_"What I've been trying to do all along, help and guide you."_

I grunted. I was beginning to think that Yusei knew a hell of a lot more about everything than he should. But that look he had just given me...

I watched him walk away from us, taking a path to the right, away from the flow of water that had nearly killed him, away from his friends. Mikage coughed, distressed from her period underwater, so I reached out and rubbed tentative circles on her back, wanting to help but hyperaware of my touch on her wet shirt.

She looked up at me with those stunning honey eyes and smiled out her gratitude, the first time she had ever really looked at me with anything at all. From the heat I felt on my face I knew I was blushing, but she didn't seem to care. She just kept smiling.

"Ushio, thank you so much. I owe you my life," she whispered, shivering. I passed her my Security coat without hesitation, and she took it with only a little, along with her ID.

"D-Don't mention it," I stammered, abruptly canceling our eye-contact, unable to bear it any longer. My heart beat frantically in my chest, so loudly that I was sure she could hear it.

There was a moment of comfortable silence as she wrapped my coat around her body, warming herself with my scent. She stuck her ID in one of my deep pockets, and I felt strangely gratified as she pulled up my sleeves and just hugged it closer to her.

"Yusei is worrying me..." It came out of my mouth without any prompts from my brain, and I was almost as surprised at myself as she was agreeable.

"I know... he's worrying me too. When he didn't call out for help with me..." she trailed off, standing up to stop her legs from becoming even more soaked than they already were.

"You called for Jack," I started, failing to keep the bitterness out of my voice. She sighed heavily, touching her heart.

"But he didn't come. He never comes for me. He only comes for her," she whispered, and I wasn't sure that I was supposed to hear it. But I did.

And it hurt me.

She walked over to the ragged stone walls closing us in and touched them with her hands, silent for a moment. I realized that she was pulling herself back together because of her latest epiphany, and I felt myself begin to seethe. She was so smitten with that bastard and he didn't give a rat's ass about her at all.

"But... while I was calling for Atlas-sama, I asked Yusei why he wasn't calling out too. He said he had no one to call out to," she continued, a peculiar sadness entering her voice. "No one should ever have to feel something like that... everyone should have a shoulder to lean on."

She removed herself from the wall and took a step back towards me, seeking comforting words in all of this gloom. And I was the only one who could really give it to her—I was the only other Non-Signer adult in our little group. I was the only one who understood what she was going to... or at least pretended to understand.

"He's really becoming more and more like the star his friends always said he was," I replied again, unsure of my own motives with this and uncomfortable with speaking about him behind his back. I was sure he knew what we were saying even though he wasn't here.

She agreed silently, and we both stared down the path Yusei had departed on, alone as he always was. "You're right, there are trillions of stars out there," Mikage began, touching my shoulder in a friendly gesture that was a little too much for me. "And from our view of Earth they all seem so close together, twinkling happily into oblivion... But they are millions of miles apart from each other. Even though they are surrounded by love and joy, they are alone. I think I... I understand that feeling well enough."

I nodded, too anxious to open up my mouth. Then I realized this was an opening for the both of us, a chance for us to find a person we could depend on. Even if she didn't love me...

...it was ok.

"Mikage, you don't have to be alone."

She looked up at me past the purple hair sticking to her face, hope shining in her eyes. Yusei's light.

It had touched us both in the end after all.

Guiding us, a light in the bleak darkness, a symbol of hope for all, unique and blinding, watchful and wise, gentle and constant, warm in the empty cold... everything anyone ever thought about the tiny lights that could only be seen by the rich. But stars had their down points, just as everything else in this cruel world. He had them in his soul too.

Distant, unattainable, and untouchable. He was millions of miles away from us all, so far away that we couldn't help him when he needed it. And he was alright with that. He'd listen to our fears and torments and give us hope until he had nothing left but the sorrow we gave him. He'd breathe out his life and take in death until he imploded, leaving only the black hole of his destroyed heart left for us to throw our sorrows into.

This was the fate of every star.

But it wasn't our fate.

"I'm here for you Mikage," I murmured, barley able to force the words out of my quavering mouth. "I'll always be here for you to depend on."

I touched her clammy hands with my rough ones, feeling like I was either about to pass out or throw up, and she smiled, taking them with only one silent moment of contemplation. "Thank you, Ushio. You can count on me as well, friend."

Somehow, being her friend didn't seem so bad... especially not with the taste of her lips still on mine from our underwater exchange.

* * *

**Third Person POV**

**Rua and Ruca**

"What do you mean Kuribon?" she wondered, frowning when her little duel spirit reported that she couldn't sense Aki any longer. They had been traveling around based on the spirit's gut feelings, and now she suddenly lost her path?

"What's she saying?" Rua asked, continuing to walk forward with his arms behind his head, looking thoroughly bored.

His twin sister continued to frown as she listened to her worried friend. "She says that Aki has just vanished. She can't feel her spirit any longer. What about you Ancient Fairy Dragon? Regalus?"

The kindly fierce warriors appeared beside her, sniffing the air and spreading their powers far and wide. The great white lion shook his head and bowed to his Mistress as she opened her wings wide in the darkening sky.

"I sense... I sense Black Rose Dragon," she reported, returning her knowing gaze to the twins. Rua was looking, clueless, in the opposite direction, convinced that he was staring up at the invisible dragon. The 5,000 year old creature chuckled slightly before her face turned grave and she lowered her head so she could stare her Signer in the eye. "She is in great pain; she can't find Aki past... something. Our connection has been deluded by a dark power, and I can barely feel her. We must save her and her Signer."

"Can you show us where she is?" Ruca asked, kneading her hands together nervously.

"Yeah!" Rua piped up, although he couldn't see or hear the dragon like he had been able to at the last sunrise. "I'll make sure to protect Ruca no matter what's ahead! All of you spirits can count on us, together we're unstoppable!"

Ruca felt a smile tug at her lips, reassured by his confident words. Ancient Fairy Dragon nodded to the boy, but then shook her head. "I can't get a clear position on her... what's that?!"

An explosion of some sorts sounded from the path to their immediate left, shaking the maze around them. Rua shielded his sister in his arms to the best of his ability, and she clutched her head in pain. They closed their identical eyes until the ground stopped rumbling and they felt the wind whipping at their hair.

Stunned, they stared up at a stationary tornado reaching high into the sky, clear over the walls of the maze. "It's the Black Rose Dragon!" Ruca and Ancient Fairy Dragon announced simultaneously.

"Come on then!" Rua replied, dragging his sister by her non-Signer arm towards the source of violence. "We've got to support Aki in her final duel and warn her about the King of the Underworld... whoever that is!"

When they finally came to the center of the mess, they could only stare in awe at the labyrinth of rainbow-stained mirrors as they were shattered, one at a time, by the might of Aki's dragon of fate. Both the raging purple fires of the Lizard Mark and a dome of light that represented Momentum separated them from their friend, so they turned back and hauled each other up on a collapsed wall to get a better view.

They were just in time to witness the first assault by Black Rose Dragon as she tore through Misty's monster and obliterated the ground where the attack crashed. Gaping, they turned to the only other female Signer only to see a sadistic smile and empty eyes.

"Something's not right," Ruca muttered as Rua gaped at the destroyed land.

"Whoa! Her powers are just like they were before the Fortune Cup!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms into the air to emphasize his astonishment. They watched the duel progress, steadily becoming more and more violent as the opponents tried to tear each other to tiny pieces.

"Rua! Ruca!"

They both turned at the sound of Yusei's voice and watched him pull himself up to their level, panting and soaking wet.

"What happened to you?" Rua wondered, wringing out part of Yusei's jacket in amusement. "I've never seen anyone this soaked before."

"Never mind," he answered quickly, shaking out his hair and getting everyone a little wet. His eyes took in the duel with the expression of someone who expected this to happen. "What's wrong with Aki?"

It really didn't sound like much of a question, but Ruca decided to answer him anyway. "We don't know. Ancient Fairy Dragon says that Aki is lost somehow... something happened to make her revert back to her old self."

They watched the gears begin to turn behind his eyes and his thoughts pick up speed. He was piecing everything together in his head, scanning the dueling area for something. They turned their attention back to the duel, worried for Aki.

"I hope she'll be ok," Ruca whispered, touching her temples. "Her deck is in so much pain right now... I can feel all of her spirits screaming for her..."

"There!" Yusei shouted suddenly, his gaze fixed on the Lizard Tower. "You two stay here; it was his doing after all..."

Without saying another word, he jumped down and sprinted away from them, around Misty and her trap cards, and scaled the stairs up the side of it. They watched in confusion as he built up his momentum and crashed through a service door, disappearing from sight.

* * *

**Yusei POV**

I had seen him leering out a window in the tower at Aki. He wasn't wearing his disguise any longer, and I spotted his red hair against the black tower. Divine. Impossible, he was supposed to be dead, flattened into the ground and then burned to ashes with the collapse of the Arcadia Building.

But then again, I was supposed to be torn into molecules by Momentum's extreme power, and here I was.

I slammed the door down, not even bothering to check to see if it was locked, hoping to catch him by surprise. Standing on the opposite side of the room as he was, trying to figure out a way to beat him without getting torched by his powers, I stared him down, unraveling his web of lies.

"So you survived did you?" he asked, grinning down at me like I was a naughty child who had disobeyed his orders. I held out my duel disk defensively, waiting for him to strike.

"Why are you doing this Divine? The fate of the world depends on this duel—it isn't your place to interfere!"

He laughed lazily, flicking the hair out of his face in a regal manner. "Dead deluded Yusei, I have more of a right to interfere in this duel than anyone can imagine. This is my duel of destiny, not Aki's! With this duel I will rid the world of the Signers and Dark Signers. Then it'll be me and my witch who will seize the ultimate power of the Underworld and Crimson Dragon and rule over an enslaved race!"

"What have you done to Aki?" I demanded, changing topics. I've had enough with rants about absolute power.

He shrugged off-handedly. "I've simply awakened her true self and taken her off your destructive road. She's right back in the palm of my hand, where she belongs."

"So you're mind controlling her?"

He turned away from me in response, staring through the tinted window at the duel. I watched Aki continue to wreck havoc on her opponent, fraying her clothes and bruising her skin. And even when Misty was able to return fire, Aki would only block the brunt of the hit with her psychic powers and take the rest with a smirk, hungry for more.

"Why do you think that it's your place to mess around with their hearts Divine? I fail to see the amusement in any of this." I crouched as he turned back to me, his hands fingering his deadly cards.

"Of course you wouldn't, you don't seem to like irony very much, do you Yusei?" he answered, eyes glowering dangerously at me. "You see, poor Signer, the situation is actually very amusing. Misty was revived as a Dark Signer because she thinks Aki killed her little brother Toby."

My breath caught in my throat. I had known that sometimes men died as a result of the Psycho Duels or were heavily injured... and I had forgiven her against my better judgment. But even the Black Rose Witch wouldn't have killed a child...

And I couldn't trust anything that Divine said. My faith in Aki kept away his lies, and I was searching for the truth in his eyes once more.

"But you see Yusei, Misty didn't know the entire story when she tried to commit suicide after Toby died!" he chuckled, activating his card. Fire rushed at me, but I had been expecting it. I leapt to the side and pushed off the wall of the cramped room, launching myself at Divine.

He sidestepped and I fell to the floor behind him, spinning around as he held out his next deadly card.

"Good bye," he said simply.

He activated it and there was a rush of heat above my head as I fell flat on my stomach. It connected to the wall behind me with an explosion, and the force of the attack dragged me backwards as it tore through the metal wall as if it were paper. Open space threatened to swallow me whole as my fingers clenched onto the edge, saving my life. Singed and exhausted, I hung above the fatal duel below me, forming my simple plan.

He emerged from the smoke unharmed and saw me dangling, vulnerable. "Well, how ironic, a falling star. Make a wish on yourself, Yusei."

He laughed as if it was the greatest joke ever told, drawing the attention of everyone around us. The twins called out for me, the voices of Ushio and Mikage joining theirs as they finally found the duel. Divine took all of them in with satisfied sort of look before returning his attention to me. I felt his pressure on my mind, like a hand trying to squeeze my brain into submission.

"Let go," he commanded, pushing me. Gradually his powers increased, as if he was trying to see how much it would take to break me. I fought back, sealing my thoughts from him as easily as I had been doing from my friends for most of my life. Angry, he tried to weaken me through his words.

"Do you know Yusei?" he sneered down at me from above, insanity in his green eyes. My grip slipped slightly as he brought down his right foot on my fingers, trying to crush them.

But my mind was strangely clear and unafraid. If the beating of my heart was a gift from my father, then I had nothing to fear from death now that I've seen what it could be like. If my breathing lungs were a condemnation of Death itself, than the fall wouldn't mean anything in the end, would it?

"Do you know?" he repeated again, grinning down at me past his boots. He summoned the equip-sword. It dangled idly in his hands. I refused the bait, staring up at his position, calculating how far my momentum would swing me when I chose to act.

It would be enough.

He laughed, throwing his head back, his chest heaving with their heavy weight on his soul. I waited, biding my remaining time for the correct moment, the moment when he would swing his sword down in one gloating blow.

"You don't know, do you? Your precious little Aki and her delicate little feelings?" he cackled, dropping down his head to look me in the eyes as he delivered his next verbal blow. I stared him down to my level. "You are her darkness and light Yusei! Ha-ha-ha! Stupid girl, to love someone enough to make your strength into your weakness! There is nothing to be gained from that!"

I was her darkness?

I glanced back at the woman behind me, watching her stare hungrily at the suffering of her opponent. I was the one who had brought this onto her? I felt a frown wrinkle my very soul at those blank eyes and the overwhelming power that had been shoved on her. But this wasn't the end for her, I knew it.

If I could fall into Momentum and be attacked by the King of the Underworld himself... if I could come out of the down-spiral of darkness because of my light...

I knew what I had to say to help her. Returning my gaze up to the man without a path above me, I set my eyes and shouted my answer. I was arguing against his insanity with my own. "No, Divine, you're wrong!"

His brow crinkled around his disorderly hair, the smirk he wore gaining sparkling teeth and he laughed. "I believe that you'll find that I'm not! You are her fears, her—!"

"Not about that," I interrupted, raising my voice so that Aki might be able to hear me from where he kept her imprisoned. He looked honestly stunned that I had cut him off, so I pressed on before he could continue his rants. "Because my light is my darkness as well!"

He was looking down at me with deadpan disdain. "So you are as much a fool as she is?" The wind from the Black Rose Witch's duel reached us, blowing our hair into our faces and carrying the hatred and desperation from below up to the heavens. He breathed it in as if it were his life force, and I sighed heavily, my heart aching for the trapped girl being forced to fight.

Now was finally the time to reveal what I had been hiding, to reveal my own weaknesses and strength to the enemy—again. And just maybe I could make them all understand me in a way my friends couldn't.

Maybe I could reach Aki through our shared sides.

"To love something so completely that it completely takes over your very soul—it isn't foolish," I said softly, willing my emotions to show past my exterior. A strange silence had fallen over the field as I spoke, the winds of hatred slowed to a gentle zephyr. Her gaze finally found the two of us, and she glared at me as if I was her detested enemy.

I refused to look at her, at the Black Rose Witch. Aki needed her own strength to overcome the monster Divine had unleashed within her. If I leant her my power, it would mean nothing in the end. If she recovered because of me, then after this duel is over and the gates of the Underworld are closed... how could she rein it back in if I was dead?

If I would really die at all...

I took a deep breath, filling up myself with the sweet, unpoisoned air. "I love her and my friends so much. They are my source of strength and courage; they are my light and life. But because of my devotion to them, if I even think about what would happen if I lost them..."

I trailed off, aware of his silent astonishment in the way his hand twitched at his side. "I know it would eat at me until I was left as hollow a shell as you've made Aki. But because they are both to me... even when the light that guides me has been extinguished and all that is left is darkness and its eternal grip on my soul, I can still find my strength. Because they are my weakness I can regain my power and continue to fight in the name of their memories. Because of them I can find my light even in the blackest darkness Death can throw at me!"

I heard a feminine gasp from below, but it came from the wrong side of the field. I was reaching Misty of all people with my words, and I had to hope that it was having a similar effect on Aki. My grip on the Tower tightened once more, my body desperate to express the feelings that I had kept locked in ever since the day I had learned of my parents.

We were all shaking with the power of these words.

"It was their strength that saved me from myself; it is their light that keeps away my darkness, Divine. And because Aki sees me as her two sides, the will to fight will never leave her," I continued. "You can never truly control Aki! It's never been about me or you; it's always been about how she decides to use the opportunities that we offered her. And if I have to die to make her fight for her own happiness; so be it! I'll have died with no regrets!"

The silence on the field stretched on for five more beats of my heart. "And what if she chooses me instead of you?" he challenged, the sword twitching in his hands, voice coming out in a harsh hiss.

"I'd be happy for her all the same," I answered.

His face twisted. "Glad to hear it," he snarled, stepping back so he could finally make contact with his sword.

_Now._

I swung forward as he pulled the white weapon back, knocking my feet against the floor beneath him. Gravity beckoned me down with a slip of my fingers, but I knew how to use its effects to achieve my goal. I pushed off with every last ounce of strength in my body, maintaining my grip by the sheer power of my will.

Natural wind plastered against me. The world stopped revolving for this second. My body arched towards fate, my hands left the ridge, and I was soaring, boots first, towards the sideways slash of Divine's sword. I saw the ground below me, the fighting duelists, the pink glow of sunset, the gray clouds, and then I felt my feet slam into his chest.

We both tumbled to the ground, the sword flying out of his hands and vanishing. Before he could recover, I tore his duel disk off his arm and tossed it in a random direction.

"No!" he hollered, shoving me off with the force of his mental and physical strength. I recovered myself quickly, my reflexes honed to their maximum from the time I spent in Team Satisfaction. He made a grab for his weapons, but I kicked them out through the opening, watching as the deck made up of equip cards tumbled to the ground.

"You'll pay for that!" he threatened, leaping at me with his fists and power. I blocked his punch with my forearm and deflected his mental probe with Aki's image, just to annoy him. I needed for him to get angry, to yell and shout out the truth so that Misty could hear him say that Aki had nothing to do with murdering her brother. I knew from the way this bastard had smiled when he spoke of it that he had something to do with the death.

I let his next swing connect with my face; I had to make him feel like he had the upper hand. He had to gloat. Confident, falling right into my sticky little trap, he followed with a kick I rolled with to reduce the damage, taking a stage fall to the ground, back at the lip of the Lizard Tower.

He grinned over me evilly. "I don't need a duel disk to finish you off."

I faked an injured gasp, clutching at my stomach as if he had actually hurt me. Pretending to force my voice out, I asked him, "Before—were you saying you had something to do with Toby's death?"

He kicked at my knee, but the pads on my pants deflected the blow for the most part. I howled in pretend pain, curling my legs closer to me in a feeble attempt to protect myself.

_"YUSEI!"_

My friends—they all had seen my fatigue earlier, so they actually thought this was a reality. This was a good thing, because their fear seemed to have convinced Divine that I couldn't fight back. I implored him to respond to their cries and my question at the same time, using it as an answer and as a threat, a neatly wrapped up conclusion.

He didn't disappoint me. Shouting, feeling empowered by the "defeat" of me and his success with Aki, he disregarded the fact that Misty had just summoned her most powerful monster, the sealed God of the Lizard Mark.

"That's right! Call out in fear of us and our might!" Divine commanded, laughing loudly and spreading his arms out wide. "You have every right to be afraid, I won't hesitate to take his life and then have Aki destroy all of yours—just like I've done before!"

"So you did kill Toby!" I shouted, subtly pushing myself away from him. His sneer returned to me, voice carrying clearly across the stadium.

"So what if I did?" he challenged, drawing back his leg to kick me again. "Aki may have taken the blame for it, but I can assure you the danger lies within me and my control over her! She's my loyal servant, she's always been! The death of one weak little boy doesn't have anything to do with this other than to assure an equally weak Dark Signer!"

"I thought as much," I inserted, swinging my legs around and knocking him off his feet. He went crashing to the ground, too surprised to catch himself, and I ran down the stairs again, very aware of the murderous stare of the Lizard God and Misty.

"Weak you say?!" Misty called out through her shock, the marks under her eyes erupting in hatred's purple light. "You were the one to kill my brother Divine?!" Her arms extended towards him, pointing at him as if about to order an attack on him. Realizing his mistake, he stood and took a step back. He may be outside of the purple fire and thus safe from being sacrificed, but by the way the monster was looking at him...

But then he decided that he didn't care, that he and his Witch were more powerful than Death and its servants. "Yes! He put up a good fight when my servants tore him away from the Black Rose Witch's dueling area, and one of my people was crushed from the damage of Aki's duel, spilling blood over the area. Toby was taken to my Movement to be experimented on; to see just how much power he really had."

Misty was shaking with her rage and befuddlement. "But my God told me—!"

"Lies," Divine inserted, not happy at being cut off midstream. "You'll find that people with the kind of power I have do that, you stupid girl. Your brother was a handful when he first arrived, he babbled on and on about how you were going to do something stupid, so he struggled until he got a phone in his hands and called the Security. I let him; they had no jurisdiction over me anyway. And then I took him and did experiments on him. He was too weak to survive, so I discarded him, sent him to the hospital, where you found him dead and cold."

The expression on Misty's face warped into something purely human, the face of bereavement in flesh and blood. Her lips moved without sound, her thin eyebrows slanted down so far that they actually touched on her forehead. "I won't forgive you!" she screamed suddenly, slashing her extended hand through the air in a form of a giant "x". "Now, for Toby... die Divine!"

The raging fire in front of us exploded into a new level as Misty's God reacted to its master's command, scorching everyone around it with its intense heat. I watched from the base of the Tower as the monster swung its hand through the air and crushed Divine and a section of the structure with its great fists. It continued to pound and pound until not even the splashes of Divine's blood were visible past the rubbles of destruction.

I felt physically sick, very aware that I had just caused this brutal murder. But I pushed past it and ran through the fire towards Aki. I safely exited the inferno next to her as she stared, dazed, at the place where Divine had been before. Her eyes were curiously empty, and I wondered why his control hadn't left her if he was dead.

"Aki... Yusei..."

I turned at the sound of Misty's voice, astonished when her markings vanished and she began to silently cry. Aki made a small noise of recognition in her throat, her fingers twitching.

The Super Model turned towards me, clutching a golden locket that hung from her neck in her slender hands. "Thank you for revealing the truth to me Yusei."

I nodded simply, unable to do anything else. She took a small step forward and opened her arms wide open to Aki, as if trying to embrace her from across the battle field. "Aki... I'm so sorry for everything that's happened. It was never your fault; I pointed fingers before I had solid evidence... I'm sorry. Now Toby's death has been avenged and I don't have anything left to fight for... I have no quarrel with you and your friends Aki; I'm going to surrender to you."

A definite gasp came from Aki in response to this, but she still didn't return. So I did the only thing I could. I stood in front of her and took her shoulders in my hands and just looked at her with my eyes, I let her see who it was in front of her. "Aki... fight his control. Shake him off; it's over; he's dead. Wake up Aki... come back to me."

Her eyes cleared, only to be blurred by rapidly falling tears once more. She threw herself into my arms and buried her head in my chest, sobbing with reckless abandon. I could sense Misty's gaze on the back of my head as I awkwardly put my arms around her and touched her hair, confused. She was crying because of Divine's death... and it was my fault. Why was she seeking comfort in his murderer?

"Yu-Yusei?"

But then she pulled away, sniffling, and smiled at me like I had done nothing wrong, like there wasn't blood on my hands.

_"You're alive."_

It was a whisper from her very soul, hope shining in her dark eyes. I grimaced down at her, rapidly becoming uncomfortable in her tightening grip. Before I could respond she placed her ear over my chest and just listened to the beat of my heart as we held each other, her body relaxing. Hesitantly, I buried my chin in her hair and just closed my eyes, trying to assure her that I was here.

We stood in each other's arms for a few minutes of comfort and sincerity, feeling the multiple eyes locked on us. But we didn't care.

_"I'm sorry."_

_"Don't apologize."_

Smiling sadly, she broke away and turned to Misty, new tears in her eyes. The two women with shared stories stood tall in the waning sunlight, their shadows mixing in the fire. Aki reached out a touched my gloved hand with hers and Misty touched her locket, smiling with radiance and life.

Letting go of me, she put her hands on her heart and opened her eyes wide, speaking from her very soul. "Misty, I'm sorry for hurting you... I'm really sorry about what happened to Toby... I can't believe that I followed Divine for so long..." She looked away, her gaze falling to the ground. "But I won't let his voice rule my heart any longer... there's another voice that's here to guide me now."

She smiled at me and brushed away her own tears before bowing gently to Misty.

"Misty, there are so many things that I want to tell you," she continued, taking a small step forward. "We are so similar, we've both been used by our precious places and tossed aside like trash... and we've both been influenced by two very important people. Divine has fueled our hatred and powers, while Yusei has revealed the truth to us."

Misty's eyes softened even further, the tears streaming from her long beautiful lashes and cascading to her shadow, cleansing it pure. "Aki... you're right. I hold no grudge over you any longer... and if things were different... I think we could have been friends."

"Misty..." Aki trailed off, touching her Signer mark and sharing a glance with me. I nodded. "Misty, these marks bind us all together, and now that the hatred has been cleared up, I will carry on our bonds until I meet up with you in the end. I'll carry on your memory with my last breath."

"Thank you, Aki," her opponent-no-longer smiled. She raised her left hand, about to surrender. Then it happened, the voice of the King, the God, whatever the hell he was, rang clear over the field and attacked Misty's mind.

_"You will not disgrace your destined battle! Signers are the enemies of all Dark Signers!"_

Misty fell to her knees as the marks on her face tried to reappear, flickering as the sun began to disappear behind us. Steadily, a purple glow surrounded her, and she screamed, trying to hit the surrender button on her disk but unable to due to the King's power.

"Misty!" Aki called, taking a step forward. Their shadows separated from the external glow of Death's power, and we all knew that the fight was back on.

"Fight it Misty! Fight him!" I added, backing away from the field as the King's all-too-familiar laughter echoed around us. She screamed loudly, opening her white eyes to watch us one last time.

"Aki! Defeat me for Toby! Don't hold back!" she shouted with her last breath, swiftly falling victim to the control of the powers that she had been granted. The Dark Signer rose once more, the strange lights burning in her eyes and face, making my own mark respond with jolts of pain and anger.

How could this force twist people to do something they don't want to? What kind of pleasure can it get from our pain?

I didn't know the answers to those questions either, but I vowed that I would find the answers—even if I had to take on death personally.

My last duty in the Other World, when Death came calling for me, would be to seal his presence with me. Righteous fury and passion sparked beneath my mask, and I held onto them easily, fueling their fire with the lights Aki gave off in her duel, the life of the spectators as they cheered her on, the will of Misty as she continued to fight her internal battle.

As Aki fulfilled Misty's last wish, the sun lowered, signaling the end. I braced myself, spreading my stance out wide and keeping my heart open.

I had only one message left for Death if it dared to challenge us now that the final tower was sealed.

_Come and get us. Just try and stop us._

The brilliant light of the final mark rising from the center of the city met my challenge with one last pull at my soul. It was different kind of tug this time; it was the demanding of my revived soul as a sacrifice. The mark on my arm burned brightly, showing it that I was not going to be controlled by darkness. I defied the call as a chill swept over my spine, denying the price that Death called for. I was stronger now, we were stronger now.

We were still standing. I was beginning to understand.

* * *

**Once again, sorry that this took so long for me to get out. Hopefully the next chapter will come quickly, I have a lot of ideas ready for the match between the "God" and Yusei. A lot will be explained in the next two chapters as well, so just hang on tight and enjoy the ride.**

**Thanks for waiting.**

**~AxJfan**


	7. Life

**************Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh 5ds. I do own several pencils though, which I have been using to stab myself with every time I see a dubbed episode.**

**************This is part one of my updates, the chapter became 20-some pages in word, so I split it in two again. **

**************Enjoy!**

* * *

**Life **

**Third Person POV**

**Lizard Mark**

Their soaking wet feet squished with every single step they took, leaving a trail of puddles behind them. Rua chuckled in amusement, splashing in the water with the glee that only a child could have, chanting continually, "We did it! We did it!"

Ruca smiled thinly from behind him, her gaze cast towards Yusei and his unusually defiant stance. He was tense all over, seemingly unaware that they were even approaching him or that Aki had left his side to retrieve Misty's locket. As a matter of fact, he didn't seem to notice anything going on around him at all. His troubled blue eyes were locked at a point in the distance as the raging purple inferno vanished.

Curious, she tried to spot what it was he was seeing, but she failed miserably, only finding the lights of Neo Domino City. She frowned, studying the city harder and tuning out Rua's loud cheers completely. There was still nothing out of the ordinary... but maybe it wasn't the city Yusei was glaring at.

Her frown deepened, and just as she was about to question the older teen, she felt it. It was something like she had never sensed before, a presence of pure unrestrained maliciousness and death, and it was reaching slowly towards them, _towards Yusei. _

"Yusei!" she shouted, her voice coming out loud and tense. His eyes cleared and he took a quick look at her, understanding her cry in a millisecond. He nodded to her and touched his arm in a fashion that showed it was bothering him, but he wouldn't admit it verbally.

The others stared at the two of them, Aki returning to Yusei, wiping the tears away and adding Misty's locket to her arsenal of necklaces. Her tortured and saved eyes focused internally as she brushed her hair back in the device that kept her powers in check. Quickly, she sensed the same presence as the others and made a chocking noise.

"What is that?" she gasped, touching her temples and shaking her head as if to rid herself of its gloating triumph. Yusei and Ruca exchanged a glance while the non-Signers raised eyebrows. They both knew that only one thing not in this world could have this kind of presence, this kind of absolute power over the Underworld that sent shivers down the spines of the living.

"We were too late," Ruca answered, falling back to her brother as he came to an abrupt halt, his sneakers soiled with mud and dirty salt water. His eyes were unusually wide and fearful for only a moment, but then he pulled himself together and put on a confident face for her.

"Wait—so that means that he's been released?!" Ushio exploded at Yusei, pointing his finger in the general direction of Old Momentum. The unmasked teen's eyes narrowed in response as he turned towards the city, the grip on his arm tightening painfully.

"Yes."

The very second that simple horrible word escaped his lips, not a moment too soon or too late, the new threat appeared over the city, exactly where his blue gaze was set. The screams of the terrified Neo Domino citizens could be heard from over the raging body of water as the great golden condor mark suddenly appeared in the sky, taunting them with its power. But that presence wasn't the same as the one that they had felt just a few moments ago...

A shiver ran up Yusei's spine and he flinched, but his gaze remained determined and justified as all of their marks lit up once more. Ruca tried to reach out of his spirits to see if she could figure out what was going on within her friend, but only found the same cold passion and challenging energy emitting from Stardust Dragon.

She frowned, confused. There were several things that happened within this past hour that she didn't have a handle on, but Yusei was the one major issue that burdened her heart. She knew that there was something wrong with him, physically and mentally, but he refused to admit to it. And the way he had been acting... well she always knew how much he cared about all of them, but he had never actually showed it like he had after he'd fallen into Momentum...

And that speech he made to Divine... what was he talking about there? When did he ever face down his own darkness or death for that matter? Was he talking about his dip in Old Momentum or something else entirely? And just the way he had delivered that speech...

"What are you all talking about?" Aki asked, casting her confused gaze around our beaten group. She smoothed out the last strands of her hair, becoming herself again and destroying any evidence of the Black Rose Witch.

"Rudger told us," Yusei began, his voice spiking at the mention of his father's murderer, "that if we didn't seal every tower before the sun set then the King of the Underworld would be revived."

"King of the Underworld?" Mikage repeated, her voice carrying through the tunnels of Divine's maze. "Is that the Condor Mark's owner?"

Silence answered her as the duelists exchanged unsure glances and downtrodden hopes. The two powers they felt coming from Old Momentum and the city were similar, but so very different at the same time. The Condor mark seemed to have the potential to be all of the things that the other presence was, but had yet to achieve that... that... indescribable hatred and rage for all living things.

"Not yet," Yusei answered finally, drawing the eyes of everyone to him. There was pain in his, but he didn't bother to hide it from them this time, making them both grateful and worried.

"What do you mean 'not yet'?" Ushio complained, closing his pointing finger into a fist and bringing it in front of him. But Yusei didn't have to answer him this time; the King of the Underworld did it for all of them.

Three very loud hisses filled in the quiet void between them as the Signers clutched at their birthmarks, agonized by the sudden spike of power and heat the Crimson Dragon sent them. A warning issued just in time, for the ground beneath their feet began to tremble and shake, throwing a fit equal to a child's temper tantrum.

Rua toppled over, landing in his puddle with a splash. Ruca was at his side, clutching his shoulders and screaming silently at the malevolent spirits being released from the hold the earth had claimed on them for five thousand years. Yusei cried out suddenly, falling to his knees and clutching his arm so hard they feared he'd break it.

"Yusei! What's—?" Aki began, stumbling over to him as the maze walls crashed down around them, toppled by the quaking earth.

For a heart-stopping moment Yusei couldn't answer—his face screwed up in so much agony. Even though it seemed impossible, his hand squeezed his arm even tighter until the pain there outmatched whatever else was torturing him. He forced his eyes open halfway; his teeth clenched together, and managed to shout, "It's him! He's breaking through Old Momentum and he's going to—"

Whatever it was Yusei was about to say was cut off by a terrible screech as a blinding pillar of darkness exploded into existence over the sight of the Zero Reverse Accident. It was not difficult to see despite the grays and purples of early night, and the sound it made covered their skin with goose bumps and made them feel so much fear that they would be able to tell you exactly how many hairs were standing up on their necks.

Supporting half of Yusei's weight, Aki managed to pull him back to his feet as the ground finally stopped shaking. The maze had been completely demolished by the appearance of the blacker-than-black cloud, and with their marks glowing so brightly in the darkness; it took no time for the being to spot them. Or at least they thought it spotted them.

It had no visible eyes, it was just simply a mass of swirling pitch darkness that was stretching across the sky, blocking out the feeble light of the waning moon through the smog. Then, slowly and delicately, almost as if it were afraid it'd hurt something, a hand emerged from the darkness, hovering over the stunned Satellite area.

There was absolute silence as the hand—no _talon_—floated above the destroyed city, leaving fear so terrible several recently saved people felt consciousness leave them. Then, with a horrible screech echoing in its eternity, it shot straight at the Signers, claws bared. Someone screamed from within their group, but it was lost to an impossibly loud clash of thunder from the—_purple?—_clouds above them.

Unable to help it, their attention faded from the terrible force about to crush them flat or claw their guts out and focused on the sky, the flashes of red lightning, and the suddenly gentle ache in their arms.

"It's coming," Ruca whispered, holding her arm with one hand and her brother with the other. Her green-gold eyes were wide with both fear and admiration as the lightning began to take form above them. "The Crimson Dragon!"

Sure enough, the mighty beast burst from the storm above them, screeching at the extended claws. Instead of stopping, it simply changed directions, taking a swing at the Crimson Dragon instead of its Signers. The God of the Dragon Star met the attack with its own claws and teeth, opening gashes in the darkness that rained misery and death down towards earth before they closed again.

Transfixed by the terrible battle raging above them, they almost didn't notice when Crow finally returned, Jack in tow. Aki's grip on Yusei was so tight by this point that she hardly realized she was supporting him completely or that he was barely breathing. All eyes left on Satellite were fixated on the war between life and death, the Condor Mark burning brightly in the distance all but forgotten.

Except by the three individuals who had started this war and were about to end it.

* * *

**Yusei POV**

The foolish notion that I could stand up against death with my friends and come out victorious left me as soon as he spread his dark presence into our sky, blotting out any light we had. The tugging at my life from the Condor Mark was nothing compared to his command for it, his shapeless overwhelming power. My soul remembered his touch all too well, was still trying to recover from the damage that had been done to something that was supposed to be immortal—untouchable. But death was supposed to be permanent as well, and those laws had already been bent and broken into oblivion. Who's to say that any other laws must be obeyed as well?

As he spread his form further, I began to realize that I had already seen his intangible figure. He had been the "sky" in the place I had fallen to—the place where I had died, or at least tried to die. My theory was confirmed when the clawed hand emerged from the black clouds, hovering over the city, waiting to strike, whispering to me with silent triumph and laughter.

**_You called?_**

I heard the voice, but the others didn't seem to notice that it had spoken in the least. Their faces were white with fear and confusion, and Aki's grip on me was tight to the point that it was painful, but compared to feeling my soul being dragged out of my body, it was only a small annoyance. I grit my teeth and steeled myself against him as he continued to pull my consciousness apart with his hatred—_my_ hatred—of Rudger and the constant reminder that I was supposed to be dead anyway.

I felt his invisible siege on my soul, and the indescribable agony as he pulled it slowly, enjoying my silent, white-faced suffering as the resistance I put up only made the process more painful. It felt like... like... I didn't have the words. I could only think of my soul like a rubber band, slowly being forced to stretch longer and thinner until it would either snap back to me or tear in two. The latter felt more likely.

Slowly, so slowly, I felt the strength leave me, even though I fought back with everything that I had before. I thought of my friends through the blinding agony, I remembered their sacrifices for each other and their faith in me, I flung out my scattered feelings for Aki, the fact that she had defeated Divine's control with her own will, that she had chosen me over him, and I fought with Jack's feelings for Carley, Ushio's for Mikage. My father, although his face brought me pain and the photo in my pocket weighed a load on my mind, and everything he had done to save me from becoming him the first time; everything I had went into stopping the inevitable.

**_It's hopeless. I answered your challenge, and you've lost. Just give into me, Yusei. It's you I want, not Rex or Rudger. They can't give me what I want, what we want._**

Rudger? Goodwin? What did they have to do with what he wanted? _What did he want?_

It didn't matter. He claimed that it was hopeless, but he seemed to forgotten one very vital fact about me, the statement that I was only now truly starting to believe as I slowed down the process of death with the force of my friends. I am hope. I hold the hope of Satellite in my soul, in a place that he could never have, no matter how hard he pulled, not even if he managed to split myself in half. He couldn't have it; it wasn't mine or his to touch. It belonged to Satellite, and even destroying it wouldn't make it attainable to him.

It was, once again, their light and faith and love for me that stopped Death. Stunned, the hand stopped advancing towards us, hesitating in all of its hubris. Coming back into my senses completely, I realized that breathing had become rather difficult once again, so I focused on trying to catch my own breath with one final jab at the stricken force.

_I'm waiting._

That, perhaps, was a bit of a tactical error on my part, for damaging a dangerous being's pride while I can't even stand on my own two feet was not a smart thing to do, especially not when I'm surrounded by my group of friends, the most important people in my life.

And death, I would assume.

The hand, the King, screeched at us all and swung his talon at us, settling for crushing us flat instead of claiming my soul for whatever it was he wanted. Guilt clouded my eyes as I watched the end come rushing at my friends. I didn't want them to take the fall with me; I didn't want the cost of my personal victory to be their unfulfilled lives.

A different kind of energy surged from within me as I looked at them, at the fright in their eyes and the bonds that kept us all together. So much was going to be wasted because I didn't find a way to beat him while my body rested within Old Momentum. It was my fault.

But this couldn't be the end for the Signers. We had won our fated battles, all of us had! There had to be some way to fix this, to stop it from happening, there had to be some way that I could intervene once more and take their fates upon myself. There had to be...

All the thoughts that constantly whirled within my brain quieted down until I was sure that I had just passed out. My mind went completely blank as I watched the hand come at us; I had run out of solutions. But I couldn't give up, I could never give up. I was carrying everyone's hopes with me...

Then, above the buzzing emptiness, it was Rudger's words that saved them.

_"The Singers had no true power, and I had sacrificed him in the Crimson Dragon's name."_

My Father, within Old Momentum, the power of the Signers, the light, the Dark Signers, the darkness, and their masters, the Crimson Dragon and the King of the Underworld. My Father, resting in Old Momentum, in the light connected with our powers... could he summon the Crimson Dragon now that the darkness was gone?

I had to try, no matter how foolish the thought sounded.

"Father... help..." I cried without the oxygen to make words. It was strange and belittling to have to call out for someone else to save me after everything that I've done. It was even weirder to have a person for me to call out to after Kiryu had died. But I had to; he was my last hope, our last hope. The Crimson Dragon was the force of light that was supposed to fight against the King, the only creature with enough power to. It fit together; this had to be the way to save us.

The clouds shifted. Lightning flashed in the sky. The light from my mark stopped being painful and became... loving almost. If I had the strength, I would have smiled. My father had answered my cries for him. Hope flooded through me as the Crimson Dragon appeared in a rush of life and bright red lightning, roaring out its power to the incoming hand.

Seeking out its true enemy, the King of the Underworld shifted its attention from me to the beast, changing trajectory and speed so that it slammed into our Dragon, jolting its entire body. But it was the God of the Dragon Star. A scratch like that was no where near enough to make it stop. Answering the challenge between death and I with teeth and claws, the Dragon inflicted damage back on the black sky.

"The Crimson Dragon," Aki murmured from within her trance, eyes cast towards the dark heavens. I couldn't help but smile as the strength left my legs and all of my weight was suddenly on the Psychic Duelist. My father had answered my cries; he'd heard me. And the Crimson Dragon was immortal; it would not lose this match...

I'm not sure when I closed my eyes exactly, but suddenly everything was swirling in bright prevailing colors behind my eyelids, and he was waiting for me with a smile and glowing body. I took a step forward in Momentum's power without feeling any pain, so soon another step followed, and another, and so on until I could reach out and touch his shoulder if I wanted to. And he didn't back away this time. He just continued to smile at me with his worn eyes, and he eventually reached out and pulled me towards his chest.

The reaction was automatic; I threw my arms around him and buried my head in the crook of his shoulder, suppressing confused sobs within my throat. "Father... thank you..."

He patted my back with his big hands soothingly. Then he broke apart from our embrace and held me at shoulder length, studying me with his intelligent gaze. "My son... I'm sorry to say that I have to be the bearer of bad news."

I blinked up at him, feeling vulnerable and fragile in his grip, something that I was having a hard time coming to terms with. Every time I saw him it felt like I was a child once more, my heart fluttering so anxiously in my throat and my emotions spilling so clearly over my face. I didn't like it, but there wasn't anything in particular I wanted to do about it either.

"Your fight is still not finished Yusei," he reported, removing one hand and pointing towards Momentum. "You and your friends must stop this force from being used by the Dark Signers once and for all. You must defeat the Condor Mark Dark Signer. When you all are able to do that... the King of the Underworld will have no more hosts to influence in this world, and he'll be unable to stay. He'll be forced to disappear back into hell."

"No more hosts?" I repeated, averting my eyes haphazardly in shame. I sensed him frown by the way his hands tightened on my shoulders.

"You are not his host Yusei, you've beaten him more than enough for him to cling onto you," he replied, his voice set in hard, cold stone. I knew he wanted me to look at him and smile, agree, and forget about the touch that marked me from the others. But I was just as incapable of doing that as I was of giving up the guilt that had haunted me all of my life.

"I've heard him speak Father, he says that he wants me over Rudger or Goodwin," I replied levelly, still unable to make eye contact. Then the gentle quiet around us was shattered by the tears that were suddenly raining down my face. Why was I doing this now? Was it frustration, shame, or sorrow that was making me abandon my tough exterior? Why couldn't I control myself any longer?

"My son... Yusei..."

"What does he want from me?!Why is he so keen on obtaining _my _soul and body? Why can I fight against him when Misty was immediately overpowered?!"

I don't even know who I was screaming my questions at, just that they had to be released before they destroyed me. The shining ghost in front of me twitched his hands like he wanted to hold me again, but I wouldn't let him this time. It was my turn to back away from him.

I would stand tall on my own, supported with the power of my friends and weighed down by the hand of death.

"Yusei, I can't pretend to know of his intentions," he began, not hurt in the least by my denial to his touch. He made to reach out and wipe away my tears, but stopped by something he saw in my eyes. A heavy sigh covered whatever he was going to say next, and we stood in the shards of quiet while I swiped away my weakness by myself.

For some reason this made him laugh, and I—startled—looked up into his light eyes as his smile turned sad. "I'm sorry," he chuckled, his eyes soft with remembrance and emotion too thick for even me to decipher. "It's just you reminded me of your mother... she did that same angry swipe whenever she'd cry... and she wouldn't let me hold her either. She was a very strong and proud woman... I'm glad that you carry on her pride."

While I was trying to deal with this new splinter of information, he shut off his smile and turned back to a serious tone. "Yusei," he tried again, shaking his head. "You have a very difficult path to follow. But you're not alone on that path; make sure that you never forget that."

"I know."

"As for the King... you should know something."

I looked back at him, waiting for his answer with hope trapped in my eyes and heart. He smiled at me again and patted the top of my head absently, pretending that my stiffening didn't hurt him. "He did not kill you. You are as alive as I am dead. It was through the power of the Signers that your body was protected in Momentum, but it was through his power that your consciousness travelled to the Underworld. I'm sorry that it took me so long to find you, but your light had been so extinguished by that point that I had barely a guiding star for me to find you with."

There were no words to say to this. I wasn't dead? My vain attempt to die before the King of the Underworld could crush my soul along with my body was for naught? I was alive and well, able to live freely in the mortal world long after the Doors were closed?

I couldn't process this. It seemed too good to be true. After all of this worrying, fearing, the taunts and demands of the Underworld, the constant fits from the King and my subconscious... how could I be...?

"My ribs?" I felt the need to ask, touching the part of my body in question. "Did you heal them?"

There was a delicate pause between us, and I knew the answer. He shook his head. "Alas I did not."

"Then..." My brow furrowed with the complexity of the situation, straining to discover a grain of understanding from the King's intentions. He had healed me instead of letting me die; he had, in fact, saved the enemy that he constantly commanded his Dark Signers to destroy. Why? What were his motives in keeping me alive if my father was so sure that he couldn't use me?

"Yes, it was the King. He used the same powers that he used on the Dark Signers to heal you, because he wanted you. If you had died you would have been worthless to him, so he had to help you before he could hurt you."

"But wouldn't it have been easier for him to control me when I was dead?" I frowned, the thought just striking me. Of course it would have been... he's the King of the Underworld. So no matter what I could have done in that situation... I would have lost—the world would have lost.

"I think I know why the King wants you Yusei, although I am not certain," he continued as I stared in disbelief at his honest face. I drew a steadying breath and locked eyes with him once more, already suspecting what he was about to say, but completely flummoxed by the reasoning behind it.

"Because I am alive," I offered, curling my hands into tense fists. "But how will this help him? He controls the dead in his domain, so how could my life be beneficial to him in any way?"

"You are the only one that he has touched who is still alive," he repeated as if trying to make me understand the significance. "_You_ aren't tied to the Underworld; you belong in the world of the living, something he can't be in. So if he were to seize _your_ body, he would be alive for the first time, and he would continue to be immortal. Your fellow Signers wouldn't be able to fight against your face and win knowing that the result would kill you. He would be taking revenge against the Signers for imprisoning him and he would also have a body that didn't rely on the door of the Underworld being open to live."

"He'd be invincible," I finished in a whisper, the truth of his words impacting me like a freight train. "Because even if we defeated the Condor Mark's Dark Signer and the doors to the Underworld closed he'd have me to cling onto, because I wouldn't fade away like the Dark Signers!"

He nodded. "Exactly."—a proud smile—"You don't have to worry about your friends because of the result of this last duel any longer. You'll be fine; the departure of the King won't kill you. It will allow your mind and soul to heal. But Yusei, you must continue to fight against him. Just because you know that you're not dead you can't allow your guard to fall. He'll continue to hammer at you throughout this final battle; he won't stay on the sidelines and fight the Crimson Dragon while you're getting away."

I touched my heart and took half a step back, averting my gaze once more. Sighing, I closed my hand into an even tighter fist and tried to believe everything that he was saying. I was alive. The heart that beat in my chest wasn't property of the King; he couldn't cling to me if I didn't let him.

But then what had he been doing before the sun set? I had been fighting him, hadn't I? What if I wasn't strong enough to conquer death? What if I let my friends down? What if I was too weak to cling onto the power that they supplied me with?

I still remembered the rush of his power when he had slammed into me during my trip to his domain; how he had shattered any forms of defense I had and tainted a shard of my soul while I lay defenseless and useless. Who's to say that won't happen again?

"Yusei, stop beating yourself already," he commanded, his brow scrunching up with concern. His arms trapped me in his embrace once more, and even though I struggled, he didn't release me. "Hey, hey. Stop it. Acting and thinking like this will ensure your defeat! Yusei, you have to stay strong in this fight. In all of this time I've watched over you from Old Momentum, I've seen all of the faith that you put in your friends. Why can't you transfer that strength to yourself? Don't you see how much they believe in you as well?"

I knew he was right, I already knew everything he was saying. But I had been depending on the strength they constantly gave me throughout the day, and here I was, unconscious, barely able to throw away the influence of my enemy. And no matter how many times I managed to scrape a victory out of the rubbles of defeat, he returned stronger and more forceful. Now he was free from Old Momentum, free and battling against the Crimson Dragon. He was corporal, he was _real._

And the force that kept me going? It was powerful and held the truth as well, but it was spiritual. It was fortified and determined, but it was so fickle and fragile. He was Death, and death would shatter the lines that connected us all more effectively than betrayal or misguided love.

I knew that he would resort to harming my friends to weaken me, as he had displayed when he rushed at us just moments ago. There would be no way I would be able to keep myself bathed in their light while it faded from their eyes. My darkness would consume me, and thus, the King would live eternally.

I would cause the end of the world.

"I have to protect them," I declared to my father's ever watching eyes. He understood instantly, smiling when he saw the passion I felt within me cover my fears and doubts. Releasing me, he drew his arms to his sides and let his fingers dangle loosely, at ease, completely confident in me.

"Perhaps the best way to protect them is to let them fight Yusei," he supplied, smiling down at me like I was the sun, the brightest star in our sky. I was tempted to avert my gaze once more, but avoided the urge. He was absolutely right; I must stay strong in this final battle of wills. One sign of weakness could be my downfall.

He only had to get lucky once.

"I know," I agreed, frowning at the thought that the safest thing for my friends to do was confront the Condor Mark and the strongest Earthbound God we'd ever see. Divine's words about irony appeared in the back of my mind, taunting me with his cruel smile. But he had been right; this night was full of heavy irony. The safest thing to do was to fight for our lives, the immortal King of the Underworld was depending on the mortal Tail Signer of the Crimson Dragon to live, our enemies were actually our friends, and our families had become our darkness...

Families—_brothers! _Wait a moment...

"Why did the King mention Goodwin?" I asked, a horrible thought brewing. There was just no way that... Crow said Goodwin had been in the basement to say goodbye to his brother... he'd have been there far before we had... but why would he...?

_"Yusei, I almost forgot to tell you. Goodwin wanted you to go find him if you beat his brother."_

But why? Why would he want to see me unless...? And he was the only one alive in the city who knew the truth about these battles...

My father sighed heavily, shaking his head. "I think you'll find that the corruption of Negative Momentum has spread farther than just Rudger."

Gears turned within me, their speed alarming and necessary, everything suddenly falling into its rightful place. "Goodwin challenged Rudger, and because he's not a Signer, he must have lost. And to lose these matches means death, and through his will... he became the last Dark Signer, the one who controls the Condor Mark."—something within me told me that I was undoubtedly correct. But the confusion and disbelief continued—"Why? What's his motivation? Rudger wanted an all out battle to see who would come out victorious... perhaps Goodwin was just carrying on his brother's wishes?"

He didn't have an answer for me this time. "I won't pretend to understand the workings of insanity. But I know that Rex has his reasons. Once upon a time he was a good man Yusei, and I trusted him with everything I had... I even considered making him your Godfather. I guess it was a blessing in disguise that I was killed before that could happen, eh? Who knows how his corrupted views would have affected you... Or perhaps you could have kept him away from the darkness of being alone..."

"You really trusted him that much?" I had to ask. I didn't trust any part of Goodwin with all his schemes and the way he withheld important information. But the man who was currently waiting for me to show up at his manor was the result of the incident seventeen years ago, and I understand how the death of people that you hold dear can change a man. It appears losing his brother and my father in the explosion was more than enough to send him plummeting over the edge into insanity.

I suppose that's what happens when the bonds between people are more powerful than the people themselves. I certainly knew what would happen if I lost the bonds that I have.

"I trusted him with the Signer's Dragons Yusei," he smiled sadly, gesturing towards the device that attached to my duel disk on my arm. "I trusted that man with the fate of the world and with the lives of you and your mother. Perhaps I was a fool."

He sighed heavily, shifting his position so that his back was turned to me. He studied Momentum in silent contemplation as I tried to put words to a question forming in my mind. It was just how he was talking about Goodwin... how he had put all of his hopes for the future and his family in the hands of one man... how that man had fallen because of how much he cherished his bonds...

"Father... Goodwin... he, uh," I started uncertainly, not entirely sure I could finish my sentence. The addressed spirit faced me once more, his eyebrows raised in curiosity.

"That's the first time I've ever heard you hesitate to speak what you think needs to be said," he commented dryly. I frowned, unsure of how to continue without sounding like I was searching for the worst in myself. He saw my embarrassed fumbling and his expression softened, his glow wavering slightly, "Yusei, I will not judge you on whatever it is you are trying to say. I'm your Father, through thick and thin. I'll love you no matter what you think you are."

I started sheepishly for not understanding that. Of course I could tell him what I thought. It was foolish of me to think I had to keep things hidden from him when all he did was tell me the truth and love me. I took a deep breath, resigning myself to an awkward silence while my father saw how I had connected two people together.

"It's just that... by the way you described Goodwin... he and I seem... Are we similar?" I finally blurted, done with trying to be technical and formal. Now was not the time to waste with words.

A stricken look crossed his face, and the awkwardness that I had predicted descended between us with a wave of Momentum. I saw a sentence form on his lips, something about how I was not insane or evil like Goodwin had become, and then he seemed to find the question I was actually trying to ask him, and his eyes studied me once more.

I waited, staring back at him with all the force I could muster, asking him not to lie to me because I knew that answer anyway. His mouth opened and closed a few times, half-thoughts formed on the tip of his tongue. Then he laughed aloud with surprise.

"I guess my wish for you to connect people has come true, huh Yusei?" he chuckled, shaking his head to rid himself of the laughter without amusement. I waited for his answer, and he met my blue gaze with his gray one.

"To answer your question Yusei, yes, you are like Rex. But, and this is perhaps the most important piece of information you can get from me, you only are similar to the man Rex used to be. You're standing in his position seventeen years ago, when your bonds are threatened by the presence of the King of the Underworld. So yes, Yusei. You could very much take the same path that he did. You could let your bonds tear you apart until it leaves you in the same state that he is. You could very well become evil."

"But I know you won't Yusei. Even though you are similar to him, you are a different person. You've made different choices than Rex did. You're still controlling your own destiny while Rex forfeited his to so-called fate. You've already made your decision to fight for your bonds with Kiryu, your mother, and me by cherishing our memories instead of drowning yourself in them."—the smile on his face was fiercely serious, and I knew he was speaking from the very depths of his heart, something that comforted me greatly—"Yes Yusei. You and Rex are connected to each other in ways different from just being hesitant allies and hated enemies. But because of this, you are stronger than he is. You know who you are. Rex has lost himself."

I was quiet for a while, staring back at the fiery scientist in front of me, the way he held his hands out in front of him, balled up into determined fists, the way he looked at me with legitimacy in his soul. And I knew that he was the one person I could still look up to, the one person I could still trust with all of my soul. I knew that he would never let me down; he would never betray me as I had been so many times before.

Slowly, the corners of my mouth upturned into a heartfelt smile. It was all I could think to do in this situation and I knew that he would understand the significance of it better than a hug or emaciated words.

And he did, he understood me better than I did myself. He returned my smile with one of his own and breathed in deeply, preparing himself to say what I knew would be the last things I would ever hear from him.

"Yusei, now that the King has gone from this place, all of the souls trapped within Momentum can finally be released into Afterlife," he whispered, continuing to smile at me. He knew I could handle his departure with grace and strength, he was truly my father.

I blinked, looking up at him with a face that was both happy and distraught. "I understand. This is the last time I'll see you." My heart shuddered at my own words but remained intact, following with the logic that this needed to happen, that it should have happened seventeen years ago, that I was impossibly blessed to have even spoken with my dead father at all.

"Not the last," he reminded me with a rough pat on my back. "Not even you can permanently conquer death."

Instead of frightening me, the thought of dying brought me comfort and serenity. He was right. After I was done living out this life with the people I cherished, I would meet back up with those that were waiting patiently to see me again. My smile trembled under the realization and resilience of the bonds between people. "So I'll see you in the end, old man?"

Expression soft, he put his warm hands on my shoulders and spoke his final words to me. "I'll be waiting. And Yusei, know that no matter what happens in this duel that you've made me prouder than any parent could ever be. No matter what the outcome is, I'll still hold onto these feelings. How many parents can say that their children stood in the face of Death himself to protect the people they loved?"

I smiled, "Five." **(1)**

**

* * *

**

(1) They are:

Crow's parents, Jack's parents, Rua/Ruca's parents, Aki's parents, Yusei's parents, and Rally's parents.

I'm sorry that this took a while to get out. I was freaking out and think that I was going to have to write a duel for this chapter (which I hate doing) so I kept researching the cards that Crow, Jack, and Yusei use in their match against Goodwin.

Which really annoys me by the way. When I saw in the preview that Crow was in the duel too I was all: DX! Not another duelist for me to butcher the duel with!

Meh.

Oh well, I hope you all liked part one. It's probably the second most important chapter in this entire story, the ending being the first of course.

Um, I'm out of here before I give anything away. Thanks for reading!

AxJfan


	8. Death

**IMPORTANT: THIS IS PART TWO!! HIT THE BACK BUTTON BEFORE YOU START READING THIS. YOU MUST READ PART ONE FIRST.**

**IMPORTANT: THIS IS PART TWO!! HIT THE BACK BUTTON BEFORE YOU START READING THIS. YOU MUST READ PART ONE FIRST.**

**IMPORTANT: THIS IS PART TWO!! HIT THE BACK BUTTON BEFORE YOU START READING THIS. YOU MUST READ PART ONE FIRST.**

**IMPORTANT: THIS IS PART TWO!! HIT THE BACK BUTTON BEFORE YOU START READING THIS. YOU MUST READ PART ONE FIRST.**

**IMPORTANT: THIS IS PART TWO!! HIT THE BACK BUTTON BEFORE YOU START READING THIS. YOU MUST READ PART ONE FIRST.**

**IMPORTANT: THIS IS PART TWO!! HIT THE BACK BUTTON BEFORE YOU START READING THIS. YOU MUST READ PART ONE FIRST.**

**IMPORTANT: THIS IS PART TWO!! HIT THE BACK BUTTON BEFORE YOU START READING THIS. YOU MUST READ PART ONE FIRST.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh 5ds.**

* * *

**Death**

**Aki POV**

**Ruins of Lizard Tower Seal**

Was it just me or was Yusei getting heavier?

Breaking away from the sight of the 5,000 year old battle, I turned my attention on the body of my most important person, only to find that he wasn't looking back at me. Panic set in with the images Divine had planted in my mind; Yusei cold and lifeless, his corpse held in my arms. An anguished scream almost escaped my throat, but then I heard the sound of his constant breathing in my ear, and I let out a relieved sigh.

Not dead. He must have passed out.

I decided against letting the others know as they stared up at the fight, engrossed as I had been. There was nothing wrong with him, and they didn't need to have the heart attack I nearly did. Gently, I lowered the two of us to the ground, making sure to be slow so his weight wouldn't knock me off balance or the shifting of positions would wake him up.

As I put his head on my lap and ran my fingers through his damp hair, dried by the flames of both Misty and Divine, I thought of everything that he had done and what had happened. I couldn't blame him for passing out after everything he had been put through tonight. I had only fought one battle against Misty and I was exhausted. And although her death stung me, it didn't cut my heart as Yusei's match with Kiryu must have.

And really, how much had Yusei lost in the past twenty four hours? He had lost Martha and Rally to his initial battle with Rudger, something that drove him to chase after the group long after they'd disappeared into the mist. After he and Jack returned, in moods very difficult to read, we'd simply chosen who our fights would be with, as if the world didn't already know. Then he'd faced off against Kiryu, the first of the battles, and he'd received all of our marks. Then Kiryu had lost and died. I hoped that they had managed to repair whatever went wrong between them like Misty and I had before Yusei was forced to essentially kill his closest friend.

And then he'd gone after Rudger. Why? I'd sensed the snarling hatred that Yusei kept hidden in his heart for the man after the duel, and it had been strong enough to scare the both of us. But when we split up for the first time he had not been thinking about the leader of the Dark Signers at all. His only pain was for the loss of Kiryu and the death match they were about to initiate. Well, whatever the reasons, he had dueled against him right after being bruised and beaten by Kiryu.

Then...

I didn't want to think about it. All that mattered was that Yusei was here with me now, that he was alive and getting the rest that he desperately needed. He must have gone through so much, physically and mentally, in these few hours. The way his face remained tense, even in his sleep, solidified my thoughts. Hesitantly, and shooting a guilty glance at the others to make sure they didn't see, I traced Yusei's security mark with my finger, hoping to soothe him with my touch.

I just couldn't believe it. He was here, alive... and he had managed to make me fight free from Divine's control. Strangely enough, it was as if the man never existed now that he was truly dead. Whatever hold his memory had over my heart had vanished the second I looked into Yusei's desperate blue eyes and chose him, chose Aki over the Black Rose Witch. And I didn't regret my decision in the least.

If asked at any time, any fleeting moment in my life, I would always say that I'd rather Divine be dead than Yusei. Divine had never truly saved me or loved me; he had never given me a place; he had never freed me from the world. Yusei had done all of these things.

And I treasured him for it.

For my true place was right by his side, with the rest of the wonderful friends that I'd somehow managed to make supporting me. The hand on his cheek closed into a fist as I lost myself in a fresh wave of strange emotions, a deep sense of happiness that for some reason made my eyes want to cry and smile simultaneously. I may not understand all of these feelings that my friends and place were giving me, but I knew that they were good and that I needed them as much as I needed air. Because of them I was finally standing on my own two feet, supported by the good, sweet memories instead of hatred and Divine's hand.

I looked back up at the massive black coiling darkness, still sensing its horrible odium and anger as it tried to reach for us again, only to be blocked by the Crimson Dragon. The collision toppled a few unsteady buildings, sending screams from frightened people into the sky, empowering the King of the Underworld even more.

All these poor people, hadn't they suffered enough already?

I tore my gaze away before I could be entranced again, turning instead to the Condor Mark as Yusei began to stir in my arms. He had known that something was going to happen in the City, I had seen him staring towards it when I returned with Misty's locket. And that creature of death... it was reaching out for him. It wanted him so badly, it was constantly channeling a stream of agony towards him, but he remained calm and distant, untouched by it in his sleep.

I was both relieved and confused.

Why was it targeting Yusei?

Then he opened his eyes and I jerked my hands away from his face before he could make anything of it. "Aki?" he asked, sitting up and effectively breaking the awed silence that had our group trapped. Everyone turned towards us as if he had shouted, and he nodded to Jack and Crow as the latter bent down to his level and grinned at him to hide the worry I sensed.

"You finally passed out huh Yusei? It's about time!"

Yusei gave him a small assuring smile and turned back to me, sending silent thanks. I managed to smile back as more screaming started, another section of the Satellite destroyed. His head whipped around and he was suddenly up on his feet, seemingly revitalized and ready to battle. Although he did not seem to be very eager to fight as he turned his attention to the Condor Mark in the distance.

"We need to get to the City and defeat him," Yusei announced, voice detached and confident. Instead of charging ahead like he had with his duel with Rudger, he paused and looked over us all, waiting for arguments or agreements.

"Him?" Ushio asked. "The Dark Signer's a male?"

I could see the hesitation in Yusei's eyes, as if he had an answer he wasn't quite sure he should give, because he didn't know how to explain how he knew it. Then he sighed, coming to a decision quickly and efficiently.

"Yes, it's Goodwin. He challenged Rudger to a duel and lost in order to become a Dark Signer."

* * *

**Yusei POV**

I could tell they were having a hard time believing me as soon as the words came out of my mouth. And it also occurred to me that they would want to know how I knew this information, and that I didn't really have an alternative answer other than to tell them about speaking with my father.

Ushio would just _love_ that.

"Goodwin?" Jack repeated, staring at me as if I'd grown an extra head. I nodded, waiting for the million dollar question.

"How do you know that?" Mikage asked, looking stricken at the thought that the man she worked for had just willingly betrayed all of us. "I mean, certainly... Director Goodwin was never the image of all things good, but he had a just motive to his plots. Did he not? Wasn't he just trying to gather the Signers to protect the world?"

Another building fell in Satellite, crushing more people and creating more power for the King of Death. The need to get out of here burned deeply within myself, heeding my father's warnings. Death would follow me, I was the prize it wanted out of everyone, and so if I left Satellite to challenge Goodwin, perhaps it would take the fight farther away from my home. Fewer lives would be lost to the taint of my namesake.

The quicker I explained it all to them, the quicker this could happen, I suppose.

Sighing heavily, I finally spoke the truth. "My father told me."

"But your Father is—!" Jack began, bringing up his right fist in one of his typical dramatic gestures.

"Dead," I finished simply, feeling my foot begin to tap despite my efforts to be still. "You're just going to have to believe me. But we've got to get out of here and defeat Goodwin before the Crimson Dragon and the King of the Underworld destroy Satellite. This place can't contain their power—no place on the Earth could for that matter."

"What will defeating Goodwin do?" Ruca asked, already starting to walk towards our D-Wheels, dragging a bumbling Ushio with Rua's exasperated help. The rest of them followed without comment, understanding the gravity of the situation. Soon we were all mounted on our D-Wheels or strapped into the seats of our cars, speeding through Satellite and towards the raging sea.

"Remember how the King overtook Misty's body?" I asked, and she nodded. The others were listening intently, hanging on my every word. They knew that I was speaking the truth. "That's how the King is able to be in this world. He needs a host of sorts to keep his presence here, and Goodwin is the last host left. However, he is also the strongest and he has allowed the King to appear. He will be difficult to defeat, but we can do so if we work together. After he's gone, the King will have to vanish back into the Underworld."

_If I can fend off his last blow._

"So what, did your Father tell you all of this?" Ushio shouted, skeptical, over the roars and screeches of the battling Gods above us. I nodded as we took a sharp turn, leading them to the site where I had escaped into the city the first time, all of my hope banking on the fact that every living person would be too enraptured with the legendary battle to continue to flood trash down the pipeline.

He snorted and projected, "Is anyone else wondering how Yusei spoke with his dead Father?"

"Not really," Crow answered cheerily, although his eyes showed how serious he was. "After hanging out with Yusei for a while you kind of learn to just go with the flow. Speaking of flow, why are we heading to the ocean Yusei? I'm pretty sure I'm the only one with a flying D-Wheel."

"We're heading for the pipeline," I answered as Jack gave me a nod in understanding.

"But won't it be flooded with trash like the first time you escaped?" Ushio wondered, fingering the scar on the left side of his face tenderly. Obviously he was not overeager to charge into the tunnel where he had earned that disfiguration.

"Do you really think people will be thinking 'oh, let's throw more garbage into Satellite' while there are two giant monsters trying to maim each other that they can watch?!" Jack shouted, irritated above everything else. "No! I think they'll be a bit distracted, don't you?!"

"Jack..." I murmured, catching sight of the broken glasses peeking out of his coat's inner pocket as he leaned to the side to verbally attack Ushio. The girl, Carley. That's right; he defeated her in his duel, which means that Jack just lost the one person he loved...

"So that's your drive in this fight..." I mused. "Love." There was a certain ring of irony in the fact that Jack Atlas, the King who claimed that he didn't need bonds or friendship to be great, was putting up his rage and spirit to save the world because of one girl that he fell in love with.

Really, I realized that was the reason why we were all fighting—some form of love. Aki fought for the people she had hurt, for her parents, for us—the friends she had managed to make for the first time—and now for Misty and Toby's memories as well. Crow was in this for his kids, the children he was fighting against the universe in order to protect. He wasn't a Signer and yet he had won his battle because of his feelings for them. Ruca battled because of her duty to protect the Spirit World and to save Ancient Fairy Dragon and also for the sake of her brother. Rua was here because of his unwavering support for his sister.

And I was struggling for all of their sakes, for the children that Martha and Crow took care of, for Martha and Crow themselves, for my father and mother, for all of the lives lost in the Zero Reverse Accident and the ones still suffering because of this.

...And the Dark Signers...

Misty for her younger brother Toby, Kiryu for Team Satisfaction, Carley for Jack, Demark for the Spirit World, Bommer for his village, and Rudger for... my family.

This five-thousand year old battle... was it all happening for the sake and dangers of demented and pure love? Was it this force that gave a person enough strength to be revived from the dead? Was it love that spawned all of the hatred that the Dark Signers felt for us—was it love that both killed them and made them realize that they were wrong?

Yes, it undoubtedly was.

I felt my gaze slip from the road and roam towards the source of my own love, the wonderful people that surrounded me as we raced through Satellite towards Death. When everything was said and done between the Signers and the Dark Signers, the united and the solo, what was the one force that won in the end?

It was the unbreakable bonds that held us all together, the bonds whose powers should not be pinned down to one simple four-letter word. That was why the Dark Signers could not defeat us in our battles: they were alone, and we were together. Their fuel to fight came from us, not from themselves. They had no one else to lean on, to encourage them to keep fighting, while we were forever bound together.

Where they summoned their own individual Gods to try and drown the person who made their love painful, we shared our strength and made them understand their feelings. We cleared the waters that the King of the Underworld muddled; we gave them back their pure love and bonds to the world. We made it so that they were no longer alone. We made them forget about revenge or greed and realize themselves once more.

We made them renounce their King, and he had no choice other than to control them himself. But even he couldn't defeat us in his duels, not with the will of his own Dark Signer fighting against him with the bonds that had just been reestablished.

_He couldn't win against love._

I felt a smile try and make its way onto my face at my latest revelation, but I refused to let it show. Just as my father had warned me, I could not allow my guard to drop in this final battle. Just because the King could not win a match against the powerful bonds between my friends and I did not mean that he couldn't twist those bonds into something he could use, as he did with every Dark Signer. Relaxation and relief were things that I couldn't allow myself to feel while his force continued to combat the Crimson Dragon.

As my father said, my fight was not over.

"Whoa! Look over there! Look at that light everybody!" Rua suddenly shouted, effectively bringing my body out of autopilot and restoring my mind to its rightful place. My sight followed his pointing finger towards Neo Domino City, past the raging ocean and towards the shoreline of the famous city.

Ushio and Mikage began to slow their cars as if trying to get a clearer look at the strip of light that was slowly forming on the opposing banks before Jack butted in, revving his D-Wheel faster. "Don't slow down idiots!" he shouted over the rest of the noise. "We're in B.A.D.S. area, stopping, even in this chaos, is a stupid idea! I will not allow such idiocy in my presence!"

B.A.D.S. area already? I took my attention off the troublesome light in the distance and took in my surroundings. Yes, this was the place that Crow called home, the land before the gap the Old Momentum created, home to thugs so ruthless that not even Security ventured here. And home to something else entirely more important—the Daedalus Bridge, which was strangely enough facing exactly opposite of the light...

I slammed on my brakes a bit too quickly, causing my D-Wheel to swerve angrily at the base of the unsteady structure reaching out to the city. The smell of burned asphalt and smoking rubber made me wince as the others executed similar methods of stopping, Jack even circling around completely so that he could pull up right beside me and proceed to yell in my face.

"Did you even listen to a thing I just said?! Are you deaf or just plain stupid?!"

Putting up my visor, I glanced at him out of the corner of my eyes before I pointed to the brilliant glow across the waters. He stared at it with the rest of them, not connecting the dots. Sighing, I turned my D-Wheel so that it faced the wobbly structure in front of me, my father's words about Goodwin's character running through my mind.

"If anything," I began, capturing everyone's attention, "Goodwin is a man of his word."

Before Jack could manage an angry "what are you talking about?!" the purple flames began to take form, cutting through the water as if the natural laws of physics didn't apply to them, and the light expanded into the racetrack of the final riding duel that would take place tonight.

As we all stared in horrified awe, the riding field of the Condor Mark Dark Signer appeared high above the open waters that separated the Satellite from Neo Domino, reaching upwards towards the glowing symbol in the sky and a sharp incline.

A makeshift Daedalus Bridge.

"The pathway connects the cities," Mikage muttered, her brow creasing in realization, "just as Director Goodwin promised Yusei once the battle was over."

"So then, the last battle will be on...?" Ushio picked up, eyebrows raised so high that they practically surpassed his hairline.

"The Daedalus Bridge," I finished, raising my voice. "Just as you promised, correct, Goodwin?"

In the center of the hovering Condor mark, a projection of our mutual opponent appeared, calm and collected as he always was. He held his hands behind his back in his typical dismissive gesture, although now I noticed his white gloves had vanished. His smile was cold and calculated, as if I was a prize that he had just won and he was determining how to use me best.

A red glow from beneath him and the golden structure behind him told me that he was standing atop the Sky Temple, projecting his image through some greater power of the People of the Stars. This was where he chose to fight us from? The place of worship for the Signers and Crimson Dragon?

"Yes Yusei, I thought that it would be poetic that I finish this fight once and for all on the place that gives you all so much false hope," he announced, his voice rippling loudly and clearly through the miles that separated us.

My eyes narrowed. Of course, he was just another typical megalomaniac trying to show off his "ultimate power" and mess with all of our heads. My hands closed into fists at my sides, hiding all evidence of my previous injuries with outright anger. I wouldn't let him get into any of our heads.

"False hope?" Crow laughed, shaking his head in absolute disbelief. "Are you kidding? This is the place that's given all of us the strength to stand up to you and believe in a brighter future! Have you forgotten the legendary man who strove so hard to build this bridge and flew out of the reach of your Security Officers?"

"The legendary man was nothing more than a fool who tried to go against fate and lost," Goodwin replied levelly, not even switching his gaze to Crow as he spoke. No, he only had eyes for me. I stared right back, keeping my silence, waiting for his explanation for this fight. He was going to have to approach me; I absolutely refused to approach him, the man who had betrayed us all, the man who I could one day become.

And if I couldn't defeat Him in battle, that day would be much closer than anyone expected.

"Why are you doing this Goodwin?!" Jack exploded, tiring quickly of our staring match. The addressed man's gray eyes swiveled from me to him, sizing up the Ex-King with a raise of his brows. He pursed his lips in mocking contemplation, and Jack's rising blood temperate reached its boiling point. "Don't just stand there and pretend like I don't exist you sorry excuse for a human being! Tell me why the hell you're the last Dark Signer and you'd better have a good explanation before I kick the living shit out of you in a duel!"

If anything, Jack's anger only amused the Condor Mark Dark Signer even further, causing him to chuckle and remove his arms from behind his back. "Very well, I suppose I must listen to the King when he commands his subjects, should I not Jack?"

Whatever Jack snapped back, I didn't hear. All of my attention had been focused on something that no one else seemed to notice as Goodwin continued to taunt Jack and enrage him even further. It was something completely and utterly inexplicable, something that my mind couldn't quite process as Goodwin returned his attention to me and chuckled.

"So you've noticed already Yusei? Perhaps I've underestimated your intuition after all. Could you, perchance, give Jack the answer he is demanding for?"

The color of his hands didn't match.

My frown deepened as I recognized the correct owner of that second skin tone, the leader of the Dark Signers, the man that had tried to kill me a little over an hour ago. Rudger, whose left forearm had been replaced with a robotic arm after he had sliced off his own arm and killed himself...

The same left arm that held his mark of the Crimson Dragon, the leader of the Signers, the mark of the Head. But how had it ended up in Goodwin's possession... none of this seemed to be possible... but... Goodwin himself had said when questioned about the Fifth Signer that he would help us in due time...

And how would he know that if he didn't have the power of the Head mark for himself already?

"You want to control the powers of both the King of the Underworld and the Crimson Dragon for yourself," I answered finally, gesturing back the raging battle behind us and wincing down to my very core at the screams and sorrows of the Satellite people claimed in the battle. "And you plan on doing so with the Condor's Mark and your brother's arm attached to your body."

He smiled appraisingly, pleased with my conclusion in a way that I could not understand. "Very good Yusei, it seems as if you have inherited your father's intelligence, perhaps even surpassed it. So tell me, how is my old colleague doing? I'm sure you two had many things to discuss after he saved your life from Rudger and my trap."

My blood suddenly ran cold. Something must have given it away in my maskless face, because he chuckled and continued, "What, do you think that I cannot connect the pieces of this puzzle as effectively as you can? You seem to overlook the fact that I was a major contributor to the Old Momentum Project as well. But I suppose that doesn't matter any longer, does it? The world's forgotten and moved on from that tragedy, or at least _my_ world has."

I felt the eyes of my friends on me curiously and returned their glances with my own. "But have you?" I replied, ignoring him otherwise, drawing strength from my friends that surrounded me.

There was a moment of stunned silence as Goodwin appraised me once more, all gloating humor gone from his hard face. Ruca gasped and I decided that I might as well look at him before facing him. I turned in time to see that last of the white in his eyes be consumed by darkness and both sets of marks on his skin ignite.

"That's enough of this meaningless chatter! Come at me Yusei! You will be the first sacrifice in my rule as a God!"

I switched down my visor and began to prepare my D-Wheel for battle as Goodwin whipped off his shirt and displayed his back to us all, the light from his mark sickly purple and pulsating. Then, deliberately, he revealed a second mark to us, one that glowed with the red light of life. One that didn't belong to him, one that resided on a mismatched-color arm attached to the stump of his elbow.

"Yusei isn't your only opponent!" Jack shouted, pulling up next to me and facing the road of light with outrage on his face. "I will defeat you as well, for the Crimson Dragon has also allowed me to reveal a stronger form of my dragon!"

"Hold up there! You two aren't rushing into this fight without me!" Crow announced, pulling up beside us. "I'm not a Signer, but I've conquered my own Dark Signer and I'll do anything to protect my kids!"

"Jack..." I muttered, grateful. "Crow..."

"Now come on Yusei, Jack, let's show this guy why we're the most powerful duelists in Satellite!" he finished, revving his engine loudly. A reluctant smile was drawn from me, worried about them already, but glad to have them at my side.

"Goodwin!" I said finally, accelerating towards the completed Daedalus Bridge with my brothers flanking me. "I may not understand your motives for this fight, but it doesn't matter any longer. As long as you bear those marks on your back and arm, you're connected to the rest of us as well, you cannot become a God. And thus we shall defeat you with our own bonds!"

Our D-Wheels hit the light and the final battle began at a sharp incline upwards. An uphill battle, as always. But we were all raised in Satellite; we were used to this by now. There was nothing Goodwin could do to stop us.

But of course, there was always something the forces we were battling for could. It all began with a simple command from the King, his voice overwhelmingly powerful, shaking my entire body as his talon ripped free from the Crimson Dragon's reach and rushed towards me.

**_This is not their fight, I only want you. Defeat them all Yusei, become who you are destined to be. Accept who you already are. _**

The screams of everyone that surrounded me fell on deaf ears as the hand shadowed my movements, nearing me with every passing second, pressing against my will with its unlimited power.

**_Kill them._**

* * *

**Well... here it is. The last chapter without a duel in it. Dear God above help me. **

** is going to have to be my lifeline for this duel, so I'll get the cards right, but their ordering will more or less likely be seriously botched up. Sorry in advance about that, but that's what I get for not watching the episodes (which is slowly killing me by the way so I'd better hurry up).**

**There are three more chapters left I believe, the next two being the duel between the Good Guys! and the Bad Guy! **

**Then of course, the last one will be me making everything either all better in 5ds land or worse. **

**(evil laugh)**

**Thanks for reading!**

**AxJfan**


	9. Echo

**Only one more chapter (plus possible epilogue) left!**

**For the duel, I had someone give me all the cards used and the turns in this episode, that's why you'll see the same moves. However, next time, things will get stirred up a little bit...**

**Hehehe...**

**Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! 5ds does not belong to me. }:**

* * *

Echo

Yusei POV

The darkness was overwhelming.

As a candle will flame so hotly that it will devour its own life, the waxy road beneath our powerful tires melted away into the foaming ocean, leaving a thick black base in the shape of a claw. Hellfire's heat pelted the back of my neck as its ruler drew closer, and I held the startling image of my own light at the end of the wicker, hovering pointlessly towards extinction, but unable to dim for fear of a fell wind's cruel touch.

It was my glow that drew him to me so relentlessly, my warmth in his realm of cold shadows that withered away my own life with each passing second. Again struck by the embers of life flickering in the Condor's wind, my mind cast itself to a dark room, a black afterlife, where Rudger once gazed down the prongs of his own wax life. Another: The ancient tunnel that Goodwin took to face his assumed destiny, the torches that flickered against the hallowed walls filled with timeless scripts of destruction and death. And again, a fainter image this time, the heat of a candle as Martha called out for me on the back of Crow's D-Wheel.

Cast in sudden darkness, my eyes strayed towards the glowing mark on my arm with a frown. The last light, the last testimony I had to stand in this destruction. Although one of us will snuff out my flame, _this_ was a light that would not be moved—this was my heart that refused to be stirred by the words of insanity.

This was the symbol of the precious bonds I would protect, down to the very last strand of my life: the tip where I was flickering so dangerously out of existence.

**This_ is your existence, _this_ is your destiny. It is no use denying what was bound to happen, what already has happened, as you say yourself. Your flame is mine, our purple inferno that will burn this world to ashes!_**

Something deep within me withered at the sound of his voice, a quivering chunk of my heart that was still corroded by the previous moment those claws had raked through me. But I would not give in. I would never make that mistake again.

**_Mistake? The only mistake you make is denying yourself what you know is right. Do you not remember the feeling of Rudger dying at your feet? The sweet thrills of satisfaction as you attacked him? To avenge those he had stolen from you: Martha, Rally, Kiryu, your parents, even your own life._**

Something flickered in the corners of my vision, and before I even had the time to blink, he was upon me, fast and lethal like a loosed arrow in the inky velvet sky.

The moment of contact was like the strike of thunder in an otherwise clear sky: frightening, terrible, and strange. As if from another body I felt the concussions of air send me spinning into the flames, imagined the rattling of my bones as they jarred together, and heard the great drum of racing blood in my heart. My muscles were weak and putty under the onslaught, completely unable to yank my machine out of the inferno, and something horrifying was shrieking into the night.

A small groan escaped my sealed lips, followed by the sound of shattering glass. The world spun around me in dizzy nonexistent turns as my brain continued to rattle inside my skull, making it impossible to discern what was happening around me.

"Yusei!"

It was a collective scream of shared agony from those who I burned for. Their distress was the same for me, but they would not understand that this was the way it had to be. I would face this darkness head on, alone and yet with their assistance, and one way or another, I would meet up with them in the end.

**_The end? There is no end, only beginnings. The lives taken are reborn in our world. Your namesake has taken lives already, you have walked the grounds of our limbo, and you have seen it. You said it yourself, the destruction of Zero Reverse, how could they forgive you? You ruined their lives. But together, we may eliminate all evils from our world, we can return their lost ones, we can—_**

_"The one moving my heart isn't you!" _I shouted to the covered heavens, reminding myself as much as disproving him. The sound of cracking glass was swallowed by an unearthly scream, followed by a confusing release of pressure. I was falling back to the left now, shaking violently in the blurred world.

"So your mark saved you?" Goodwin pondered on his perch far from the site of the battle. Then he laughed as if he was in some great joke, and it echoed around me in a strange symphony with my pounding heart and screaming friends.

_Mark?_ My vision settled now that I had an idea of what to focus on, and I realized I was seeing the world through the dome of crimson light that protected us from the Immortal Gods. But something was horribly wrong; this barrier that was supposed to be unbreakable, given strength by our bonds to one another, had long jagged cracks bleeding down its sides, cracked like the glass of a shattered mirror.

Just as it had been in my journey to the Underworld, where he had broken through and _twisted_ part of me beyond what I believed could be repaired.

**_Cursed Mark! No matter, as has happened before, it will shatter under our pressure!_**

True to his word, I spotted his repelled talon bulleting towards the bridge again. Was this it? The final resistance I could throw at him before he took me?

Out of the corner of my night-shielded eyes, I saw Jack and Crow swerve towards me in last ditch efforts to knock me off course, but they knew it was useless. They may have well been attempting to pluck a minnow out of a raging stream using only their bare hands. His talon swamped the entire bridge in just his shadow alone—the actual thing? There was no escaping.

"Fall behind!" I shouted as they sandwiched my D-Wheel between theirs, dark shapes in dark skies. "He is targeting me; not you! Stop Goodwin!"

"You insult me by saying that!" Jack cried, and I felt his elbow jab my forearm sharply. On my other side Crow's fist pounded lightly into the side of mine, and I imagined his teeth sparkling in his usual grin as he said, "Yeah, Yusei, we're in this together all the way!"

He was so close now, just a few precious moments away from flattening or engulfing us. His presence was unbearable to my divided being, and the glow from my mark burned angrily against his invasion. Though they eagerly wished for the darkness to hide it, I saw the beads of sweat fall from my friend's brows, the fear that were smirking so eagerly at. Their sacrifice—was this the only way?

**_You can still save them. I want only you._**

_Ahhhhhh... _I gasped down to the deepest part of myself and flinched under his onslaught, drawing the close attention of my brothers beside me. Crow's eyes were as sharp as they had been since the beginning of this pointless war, and something he saw within me widened them in two disks of horrified shock.

"Yusei!" he puffed, and from squinting eyes I could see the strain of denial. "In the light of Momentum—that thing—the King—he didn't—you didn't—?!"

"In the light of Momentum?" Jack restated. I could hear the agitation in his voice as the wind rushed between us. I knew if I looked up, I would see the palm hovering only a hundred feet above and descending rapidly...

_"No,"_ I ground out, forcing myself to stare right into his storming soul. _"Never."_

Impact.

The King's laughter echoed in my head. A scream replaced it. Pain followed next. Then hate. But not my own. Where the darkness had blocked the faces of my comrades before, a radiant light appeared, displaying all of their astonishment in stunning relief. My eyes followed the light to our saviors, the two magnificent dragons of our female Signers blasting death away through the power of our bonds.

Aki's voice was the first to ring out through our Dueling Systems, declaring proudly, "I will not allow this to happen!" Twisting back, I saw her power device clenched tightly in her right fist, jaw set, and eyes bright and merciless towards the King who was trying to destroy her place.

Next was young Ruca, and though her psychic powers were still underdeveloped, the dragon she had been reunited with was blazing beautifully in the ominous sky. "I will fight too! Eternal Sunshine!"

The resulting roar split my head straight down the sutures with blinding agony, and if Crow and Jack had not been so close to me, I would have easily lost control again and crashed before this duel could even start. But their hands held my vehicle firmly in stride while I inhaled heavily to ease my aches.

If this was the pain he channeled to me, I wondered how much the attack had wounded him truly. Enough for him to hastily retreat and be reengaged in war with the Crimson Dragon, it would seem, as the powerful beast sunk its teeth into the extended arm (leg?) and tossed it bodily towards the ocean. His growl shook the earth, splitting side streets in the already damaged Satellite, and for the first time his form flickered into existence.

A strange shadowy Condor rose from the salty surf with another cataclysmic screech as it whirled its great head around to glare at us, specks in comparison.

**_Very well, you have chosen to be difficult, as was expected. Then I will make you see, my Signer of divided fates._**

"Yusei," it was Crow again, voice low and surprisingly trembling, "what hold does that thing have over you?" I did nothing but shake my head in response, to the best of my ability ignoring the blistering headache his screams left behind. But my friend would not have it, would never have just that answer to satisfy him. In this way, he was similar to Jack. "It's... it's killing you, isn't it?"

_"What?!"_ Jack snapped, and his fingers tore at my chin until I was looking right into his tight face. "What is he talking about Yusei?! I demand an answer!"

Jack was sharp and dangerous, a tinted window with a hole punched straight through his chest. Trying to reach into the gaping cavity to assure him only shredded my arm and probing conscious, so I hastily retreated. That was a wound that I could not allow to expand and that I could not heal if I spoke the complete truth now. I had already watched Crow shatter tonight, and feeling those gray eyes that had shed a single tortured tear on my back did not alleviate the weight of the half lies between us.

I could not let them break during this duel. I would not let them fall because of me. They did not need to know yet—but they needed to understand. "Through this duel," I said, jerking out of Jack's nearly desperate grip, "you will find that answer."

"Is that so Yusei?"

We all turned to face Goodwin, who had been nearly forgotten in the shade of the recent assault. His palms were pressed deep into the ancient dueling table before him; his face was a snarl of contempt.

"Then tell me how you all plan to support someone who will not tell you the truth? Someone who is perhaps against you? How can you trust him when he does not trust you?" his black eyes narrowed as he stared us down. His voice carried an echo of something deeper, something that had been buried a very long time ago, perhaps seventeen years ago...

"It is not a matter of mistrust!" Jack trumpeted back before I could form my own rebuttal. "I may not know much about these 'bonds', but I will fight to prove myself and to save the world!"

My eyes widened in an uncharacteristic display of surprise, but before I could find the words, Crow laughed them out, "Come on Jack, you can't pretend that you aren't affected by bonds! They are what have brought us here to fight it out!"—he turned to me again, not quite successful at banishing the worry in his eyes—"And that's why we fight! Because we are stronger than anyone if we work together! It isn't a matter of mistrust, it's because of the faith that we have in one another that nothing needs to be said!"

"Crow..." I murmured. "Jack..."

"Yusei! See for yourself _my_ reason behind this duel! Ore no turn! Draw!" Crow finished, pealing ahead of us with the squeal of eager tires. Jack fell to the side as well, flanking our clever friend with the pride he had once held as a member of Team Satisfaction.

And that was how it all began to end.

"I summon the tuner monster Black Feather Mistral of the Silver Shield in attack position (Atk: 100, Def: 1800)!" he began, his usual tricky play already beginning. "Next, I'll activate the effect of Black Feather Black Lance Blast from my hand! This lets me special summon him if I have another Black Feather monster on my field! And that's where Mistral of the Silver Shield comes in! Appear now, Black Lance Blast (Atk: 1700, Def: 800)!"

The fierce warrior bird gladly burst onto the battle field, twirling his lance expertly between his talons. Black feathers trailed from his tuner's wings as it soared beside him, staring down Goodwin with the same determination as its duelist. This confidence...

"Now I'll set one card face down and end my turn," he finished. I could hear the grin in his voice. "Take it away Jack!"

"Of course, I'll show him true power!" the once Riding Duel Champion shouted, taking the mantle in front of us head first. "I'll summon Mad Demon in attack mode (Atk: 1800, Def: 0)! I play a face down and end my turn. Yusei! Show this fake god the power of my sole rival!"

Something itched at the sight of us working so seamlessly well together. It was as if we had never spent two lonely years devoid of each other's presence, it was as if we still functioned as the Satellite's invincible team. But not as the gang that had fallen apart without a goal to search for, no, now we were united in the pursuit of a bright future for all.

Crow caught my tiny grin and smirked toothily in my direction, expressing his similar feelings. The rush of fighting beside them again was incredible. Yet I feared I would never experience again. I eyed the battling gods on the horizon and felt my smile turn sour. If it turned out that I could not survive this battle; if I had to disappear in death to seal away the King, then I would do my best to ensure that they would continue to strive—Crow, Jack, Aki, Rua, Ruca, Martha, Rally, and all of the Satellite.

They would see it all through this duel.

"Ore no turn! Draw!" I announced, feeling the texture of my card through my coarse gloves. My gaze did not stray to its text quite yet; I still had another person who needed to be understood. The man who I could become, the man who would have been my father, the man who glared so calmly at me with those turned eyes. "Goodwin! Tell me, why did you become a Dark Signer? Why did you challenge your brother? Was it for the truth that you think I'm hiding? Was it for the trust misplaced between you?"

He laughed once. Only once. And it was not a pleasant sound by any means. To most ears, especially those of my beloved friends, it was insane and evil, but I heard the bitterness, the agony, the sorrow hidden in it, "You ask such pointless questions Yusei! But the truth is something that everyone needs to hear—so listen very carefully! I'll show you that those bonds you hold onto mean nothing in the end! The only power is that of death, of the gods I will control!"

He opened his arms wide to the approaching warfare between the two gods as if embracing the destruction. His muscles bulged powerfully with his sweeping movements, flashing the red light he had stolen like lightning across our range of vision.

"It is true that I dueled my brother before you did Yusei," he began simply, holding the same aloofness that he had since the day I had met him. "I knew to challenge him meant certain death, it was what I was hoping for. Our duel was short, and I did everything I could to lose that battle. When it was over, my big brother even saw the three trap cards in my hand that could have saved me from defeat. But when he asked the same questions you did Yusei, my answer brought such surprise to his eyes!"

_The same questions as Rudger?_

"Yes, just like that look on your face right now. I told him that I had found a new way to take power. This battle between the Signers and Dark Signers is an eternal cycle that will happen every 5,000 years. It is pointless to try and win if you are the darkness! Eventually, the Signers will rise and destroy you so the cycle may continue. Just as I knew I could not defeat him, I knew he could not trump you Yusei. How could he when you were being watched so carefully by the gods—as carefully as he had been seventeen years ago? So I told him of a way to surpass his destiny, a way to bring victory! By killing you, the chain would have been broken. Four Signers would stand in the way of death, and four signers would fall!"

"But I knew that was just another lie to appease my big brother, so I told him my true plans. Through my will, I planned to be reborn as a Dark Signer when death came calling for me! I called upon destiny's door and was answered! The beautiful creature, the Condor, appeared before me and sank its claws within my heart. I became the last Dark Signer with the help of my brother, and I would surpass even him!"

"Why?" I murmured. "If you believe that the Signers will always triumph in these battles as I do, why did you join the side that could not win?"

"How similar you are to my brother, he wondered the same things!"

A rush of anger flashed up my arms at the accusation. I could not be like that man, the man who had ruined so much.

**_Of course you aren't. When I came to him, he could not handle the power I was giving him. But you, you are still struggling with both us gods fighting over you. You are far more powerful than he ever was._**

"I turned to put an end to this war, permanently! By controlling both the power of the Dark Condor Mark, the King of the Underworld's Sign, and the Head Mark, the leader of the Signers, I would become God! And through this power I would surpass destiny! I will destroy the world with the powers of darkness, and I will remold it to my liking with the power of life through the Crimson Dragon! That is my goal!"

"That won't solve anything! You cannot pretend to hide your pain by making a world as you shape it! That will not bring back your brother!"

"Why would I bring back him? Since I was entrusted with his arm and final words after he turned all of this was possible! Do you know what those words were? He told that Yliaster member to contact me and deliver this message: Gather the remaining Signers, Rex, and defeat me! Destiny has brought us to this point—but now I will rise above it and become more powerful than even my brother! I will end this cycle of war! I will end all suffering and emotions!"

"No!" I shouted. "That is not true! You can't break past destiny like this Goodwin! It will only bring more pain and suffering! That world you speak of is one without bonds, without friendship or love! It is a place without life! If you want to stop this fighting, if you want to surpass destiny, you must do it with the strength of those that you are fighting for!"

"Those I am fighting for? I am fighting for the world! What do you gain by challenging me, Yusei? Nothing! The cycle will continue, people will suffer, and the world will never change!"

A world that will never change... The screams of Satellite reached me once more.

"You are wrong Goodwin," I whispered. "By fighting alongside each other, we've gained the bonds of friendship and trust. With this power,"—I thought fleetingly of the dark claw in the sky above—"anything is possible. If we look at each other with compassion instead of animosity, we can change this place."

"Yeah! Yusei's right," Crow piped up, something in his voice restored by my speech. "By doing things your way, you'd only create a world of hate! If humans couldn't lose each other that would mean no one would care about anyone or anything! They'd be alone! I've been down that road once when I was young, and I can tell you that it is not some great utopia! And just like the Daedalus Duelist who flew towards his hopes, we'll use our combined strength to soar over you!"

"That duelist was nothing more than a fool who learned the hard way," Goodwin rebuked, addressing Crow for the first time, "that destiny cannot be bested."

"Eh? Are you still on about that?" he murmured to himself, and then shouted to the heavens, "That's not true, just like I said before, that legendary man gave us all hope in the Satellite! And I still aim to carry on his torch and see to it that this bridge gets built! So like I said down near Momentum Goodwin, we all carry on the will of Satellite through him, and we'll beat you with the hope he gave us!"

"Hope," Goodwin echoed, spitting the word as if it were poison on his lips. "Hope will get you nowhere. That is why putting your faith in failures like that man and people like Yusei will be your end in this fight."

"Without hope," I intervened while the others puzzled over my name in his sentence, "there is no chance for victory. If I understand correctly, you once had hope for a better life Goodwin. Perhaps it is just you who failed to see what it gave you."

His black eyes narrowed, but not a word passed his lips. Very well, if he was adamant on hiding his true feelings, I would bring them out through this duel.

**_And you claim we are not so similar, Yusei? You strive to make your opponents see as much as I do. In the end, they always realize their errors through our persistence. They always make the right choice._**

_As I already have,_ I replied curtly, earning a surprised twitter of emotion. Ignoring him was doing nothing, and he was correct. I did strive to understand those who claim to be enemies, and I knew his motives well enough at this point.

Demonstrating my chosen path, I announced my first move of this duel. "I summon Max Warrior in attack mode (Atk: 1800, Def: 800)!"

The King snarled in the back noise, and I knew it was directed at me. From the worried chatter of my friends on the sidelines, they knew that much as well. For once, I wished I could turn off the sound between my machine and Ushio's Security cars to spare them my labored breath.

But it would do no good to shield them. We had to fight for them, with them, if we were to achieve victory. My large warrior took to the field proudly, raising his weapon up against the fighting gods and Goodwin alternatively. I eyed him for a moment then continued, "I place one card facedown. I end my turn."

Unfortunately, I couldn't foresee it would be my last one.

**Crow: 4000 (Speed Counters: 3)**

**Jack: 4000 (SC: 3)**

**Yusei: 4000 (SC: 3)**

**Goodwin: 12000 (SC: 3)**

We all tensed apprehensively as Goodwin drew his first card. The battles we had faced earlier in this night had taught us the pain and suffering that came with the deck of any Dark Signer, and to be head of Security, Goodwin must have been a powerful duelist before it overtook him. This would be a duel that would stand prominent in the memories of every spectator in this frightened city of lights.

"I special summon Priest of the Sun (Atk: 1000, Def: 2000) from my hand," the final dark warrior began, placing his card on the ancient tablet before him. "I can special summon this monster if I have no monsters on my field while my opponent does."

"Then next comes..." Crow muttered to himself, but we all knew already. The key monsters in these fights with the ability to bring out an Ace Monster: the tuner.

Sure enough, "I summon the tuner monster Red Ant Azcatl (Atk: 700, Def: 1100)!"

"It's coming," Mikage whispered through the Dueling System network. We three spared each other a silent paragraph through our eyes and returned all of our attention to what Goodwin believed was our doom.

"I tune my monsters! When the sun rises, darkness is all shattered. May the light illuminate! Synchro Summon! Show yourself, Sun Dragon Inti!" Goodwin cried, spreading his arms wide for the arrival of his sun.

But a normal Synchro Summon instead of a Dark one? Could this really be Goodwin's Ace? With 3000 attack points and 2800 defense points it could easily be any duelist's Ace. But Goodwin was not trying to be any duelist. Surely it would be a creature of the darkness like those Kiryu and Demark carried so proudly...?

**_But he is trying to use both powers to become God, remember? _**

My frown deepened. Although his presence withered my soul, his assumption seemed correct. So then more was still coming, perhaps something to do with Red Ant Azcatl's monster effect...

"Is that all the power you have Goodwin? You will need much more to defeat the King!" Jack proclaimed, boasting his way towards finding out the man's true goal.

Goodwin's lips pulled into a quickly vanishing smirk as he continued, "I activate the monster effect of Stone Statue of the Lamenting God! By removing Red Ant Azcatl in the grave from play, I can special summon this monster in attack position (Atk: 0, Def: 200)!"

A chill ran through me at the familiar dueling pattern before me. Using all monsters and their combined effects to summon more powerful Synchros, using all cards available as building blocks towards victory, mixing and blending strategies to summon more monsters still...

Then the Dark Tuner would come next. If he was someone I could become... that would be my next play. With both a Dark Synchro and a normal Synchro, he would display the powers of both sides. He would express his goals through his play. He would make his opponents see.

**_Familiar Yusei? _**

"Next," he declared on schedule, aware of my hard gaze on his every move, "I pay 1000 life points in order to summon Dark Tuner Black Goddess Witaka in attack mode!"

A low level monster. Then it had an effect, something that could be used on the Sun Dragon Inti growling on the opposite side of the field...

"Her effect allows me to select one Synchro Monster on my field and make their levels equal. So the level eight Sun Dragon Inti! Lend your power to the darkness!"

A level six Dark Synchro Monster then, probably another tribute to the extremes he was trying to contain within him, like the angry red head on his arm and the bleak purple bird on his back... the moon.

"When led into darkness, whispers of despair can be heard. Maybe death! Dark Synchro! Show yourself, Moon Dragon Quilla (Atk: 2500, Def: 2000)!"

It was eerie to see my own predictions come to life before me, stranger still to be able to understand the evil before me at such an intimate level. Staring at the moon and the sun dragons seemed only to solidify the connections I had made between us, and for a moment there was a flicker of doubt within myself.

He did not miss it.

_**You wonder how you can connect with evil so easily Yusei? Perhaps you need to see past your own eyes, see that it is not evil I offer my Signers. A chance for a better world, a chance to make rights where there were wrongs, a way...**_

_To spill the blood of the innocent, _I cut off, pretending with all the might my mask once held that I was not feeling the dark satisfaction of Rudger falling to his knees before me.

"But as destiny insists, the sun and the moon cannot coexist without one dominating the other," Goodwin murmured as he placed two cards face down. "And thus, the Moon Dragon Quilla is destroyed by its own monster effect at the end of my turn. The god of the moon must bow to the god from which it steals its light. But the night will cycle through again."

"The struggle in a world that remains the same," I noted, drawing more than one curious eye.

"You are strangely perceptive in this matter Yusei. But if you are looking to 'save me' you are wasting your last breaths," the pretending god commented, staring me down as more than an enemy. He was searching for the King within me, but for what purpose did he believe that monster tampered with my heart? Did he think it was to bring him one step closer to his goals?

"I do not have the power to save people," I repeated. Just as before, I felt Jack's sharp gaze cutting into the back of my head before I fell back and handed the stage over to Crow. He spared me a loose grin as he accelerated ahead.

"Well I might not know much about gods or whatever it is you're talking about Goodwin, but that doesn't matter! I'll soar right to the sun like the legendary duelist!" he vowed, taking his drawn card in his fist and pointing energetically to his heart.

"A plight that lost that man his arm."

My gaze strayed towards his missing left arm. The final pieces fell into place.

"Eh?" But Crow did not want to see what was being hinted at.

**Crow: 4000 (4)**

**Jack: 4000 (4)**

**Yusei: 4000 (4)**

**Goodwin: 11000 (4)**

"Whatever," he continued; shaking off the dread I could see on his heavy shoulders. "I activate the Speed Spell Tune Up 123! If I have at least 4 Speed Counters I can roll a dice and increase the level of one of my monsters!"

Goodwin watched with slit eyes as the holographic dice rolled alongside our D-Wheels, coming to a result of 2. It was easy to tell by the volume of Crow's grin that the result was just what he had been hoping for. He laughed in obvious mirth and declared, "Perfect! How's that for destiny Goodwin? Black Feather Mistral the Silver Shield gains one level due to my spell! So now I'm tuning him to Black Feather Black Lance Blast! Darkened gales! Become the wings that soar to the heavens! Synchro Summon! Black Feather Armored Wing (Atk: 2500, Def: 1500)!"

"Destiny? That monster is not strong enough to scratch my dragon. That is just more of your deluded beliefs. Destiny cannot be changed by mere mortal humans such as you!" Goodwin barked back, scoffing at the sharp black warrior glaring at him from below. "And that is why I must become a god!"

"I won't let that happen! We'll fight with everything we have to defeat you—so I'm not finished with my turn yet Goodwin!" he rebuked, twirling his next card between his skillful fingers. "I'll summon Black Feather Elphin the Raven to my field in attack mode (Atk: 2200, Def: 1200)!"

"And before you ask," Crow continued with his dagger grin. "If I have another Black Feather on my field, I can summon him without any releases."

Our mutual opponent's expression remained calm, untouched by Crow's usual mind games. His frown reflected on my face. I would have anticipated his trickery as well, and Goodwin seemed to know what was coming next: my friend's powerful combination of Black Feather effects.

"Armored Wing, attack Sun Dragon Inti! Black Hurricane!" he declared with a strike of his open palm.

Thoroughly unconcerned, Goodwin watched carelessly as Crow's monster pumped his tapered wings and cut through the gales towards the Sun Dragon Inti. Even as his monster cracked open with the positioned wedge counter, all he did was comment, "You don't take damage through the effect, correct?"

"What?! You knew all this time what I was aiming to do?" Crow exclaimed, and then muttered, "I should have known. That demon clown knew all my files as well."

"Of course I know," was all Goodwin said in reply. The orange haired duelist appeared ruffled for a moment before abruptly smoothing out his feathers and offhandedly saying, "Ah well, Security knew all about the legendary man and couldn't stop him in the end. So you won't be able to stop this either! Due to my Black Feather Armored Wing's Wedge Counter, your Sun Dragon Inti loses all of its attack points!"

"So go Black Feather Elphin the Raven! Attack Sun Dragon Inti!" Crow finished with a flare of his fingers. The second bird warrior launched itself towards the false sun and destroyed it in a burst of sharp claws and black feathers.

**Crow: 4000 (4)**

**Jack: 4000 (4)**

**Yusei: 4000 (4)**

**Goodwin: 8800 (2)**

"It does not matter," the aspiring King shrugged. "Even if you attack me and damage my life points, it means nothing in the grand scale of things." He eyed me meaningfully, his knowledge of my dilemma a worrying prospect in this fight. "The scales are tipped in my favor, aren't they Yusei?"

"No," I replied curtly, raising a few eyebrows. "You are a person who has isolated themselves from the bonds they once had; you ran from my father, your brother, and this city that depends on you. You allowed your ties to overwhelm you to the point where cutting them was the only way to keep yourself sane. But you cannot lose those bonds Goodwin! They will remain in your heart no matter how hard they are pushed away!"

"Yusei..." Aki whispered through the speakers.

"My friends and I support one another in the heat of battle. We build off of our combined strength and accomplish feats that would have been impossible otherwise. And while you bear that arm Goodwin, you are connected to us mortal humans as well. Thus, no, the scales are not tipped in your favor while you continue to project this lie. It is our bonds that will lead us to victory!"

"I agree with Yusei!" Jack announced, slaughtering the silence that would have followed my statement otherwise. Crow hooted in agreement, the glee restored fully to his serious eyes.

"Then I will show you that your efforts will only bring you harm like your legendary duelist!" Goodwin proclaimed proudly. "I activate Sun Dragon Inti's effect! When it is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, the attacking monster is destroyed and you receive damage equal to that monster's attack points!"

"What?!" Crow exclaimed as his monster shattered in a cloud of gray dust, sending his life points and speed counters plummeting.

**Crow: 1800 (2)**

"And as the sun sets on the dawning of a new day, a new world, Moon Dragon Inti is special summoned from its grave to my field in attack position!" The blue dragon wavered back into existence, silent and calm as the night it was representing. The red glow of Goodwin's mark set his scales in the same purple glow as the flames as he showed it to us with a snarky smirk.

A plummeting feeling settled deep in my guts and the King suddenly returned all of his attention to me. Even without the connection between us I could have felt his victorious excitement a world away. Something was wrong. Something was going to happen... Goodwin was going to...

To become both gods and remove our marks from us...!

"With the power of the Head Mark," Goodwin chuckled, raising his arm high in the air above us. The dread grew with the King's rising anticipation as the mark grew brighter and brighter, just as it had during my duel with Kiryu, or Jack's duel with Carley. But this could not be! How could he call the Crimson Dragon's power while he possessed the Condor Mark?!

I didn't have any time left to find an answer for that question.

Someone's shriek alerted me to a break in the battling gods. I twisted around as my arm fried under Goodwin's summoning in time to witness the great Condor swipe the Dragon out of the sky and into the boiling waters below. As it twisted and rose from the waves the King was already rushing towards me with all the speed his supernatural power could muster.

But my mark would...

My heart stopped as the tail mark vanished, leaving a patch of irritated skin behind. Whiplash strangled my neck as I jerked my split attention back ahead to spot the full mark of the Crimson Dragon displayed proudly across Goodwin's chest. Disbelief clouded me at the sight of the life and death gods' marks of power coexisting in one man. How could it be that while the shadow of death descended on me, the living, life clung so brightly to the chest of someone who was already dead?

"This is the power of a God Yusei! This is the power that will lead me to victory, starting with showing you misery and despair for opposing me!"

My shock was so deeply rooted, I failed to feel the pressure of his presence this time, the pounding of blood in my ears, the slight increasing in my heart, the screams of my friends...

"How—?"

In the echoes of Goodwin's laughter, Death finally silenced me.

* * *

**(Runs away)**


	10. Yusei

**Pretty fast update huh? Working on my new story Side Effects **(look, shameless advertising!) **has got me pumped up for all of my stories, and this chapter was just so much fun to write!**

**MOST of it is in GOODWIN'S POV. That was hard...**

**And while your eyes are straying to that first sentence, let my give that disclaimer!**

**I don't own Yugioh 5ds! Bad things would happen otherwise!**

* * *

**Yusei**

**Yusei POV**

I screamed once, choked, and knew no more.

* * *

**Third Person POV**

There was no way they could have seen it coming—not with all their astonished attention on the marks fading from their arms and appearing on Goodwin's chest, not with the screams of the Satellite and Neo Domino distracting them, not with the crashing waves at their feet, not with the screeches of their dragons in the air.

But they didn't have to see it, they heard it, they felt it, for just a moment, echo through Yusei's mark before it was lost to the last Dark Signer. His scream followed shortly and stopped abruptly; bringing their attention to something they wished they had not seen.

Yusei was gone.

And they could do nothing but scream, scream for their friend lost in darkness. Jack and Crow attempted to approach it, to drag him out of its grasp, but couldn't get close enough without being driven back by the fatal pulsing pressure.

Aki and Ruca ordered their fearsome dragons to attack and attack against its claw with all the power they still had—to no avail.

Ushio, Mikage, and Rua screamed his name over and over into the dueling system, begged him to answer, and waited on a response that would never come.

The Crimson Dragon clawed at it, tried to pull it away from its Signer with its supernatural might, but the King would not budge.

And during all of this, Goodwin just laughed, because he believed his plan was finally coming to a close, he believed that the King was doing as legend said he would; fighting against the Signers, claiming the leader for its sacrifice, paving the path for victory.

No, nothing could be done to save Yusei. As Mikage and Ushio had feared, he was too far out of reach to be summoned, as Aki feared, he was cold and lifeless in a place where she could never find him, as the twins feared, his light had finally put an end to him, and as Crow and Jack feared, all of his endless hope had vanished.

It was over.

"Yusei?!" Crow called, driving himself into the mass that separated him from his dear friend. Jack followed suit with a hard grunt, pushing the Wheel of Fortune to its limits against the dark gales as his friend continued to call out, "Yusei?! Can you hear me?! Yusei?!"

"Don't you dare die on me Yusei!" Jack hollered, glaring deep into the center of the swirling mass of darkness before them. "I have not settled the score between us yet!"

_"Eternal Sunshine!"_

_"Black Rose Flare!"_

The attacks lit the sky in flashing Technicolor, but left the shapeless claw crushing their friend unharmed, much to the final Dark Signer's amusement.

"Is this all the strength of those bonds you are so proud of Yusei?" Goodwin laughed, opening his arms wide to the thundering skies. "How did you expect them to protect you against the onslaught of a god? Now you see how weak they make you—how they took your life from you! That is the power of me, a god!"

He threw his head back and cackled louder still, fueled by the desperation in the voices of Yusei's soon to perish friends. "I'm afraid the rest of you will follow him on the path down to hell! Who is next?"

"I can't let that happen!"

Everything came to an abrupt halt.

"Who...?" Goodwin breathed, his eyes wide without the mirth they had just displayed. "It can't be..."

With a scream, the King's talon flew across the dueling field and slammed into the ocean, where the Crimson Dragon fell on it, attacking with renewed gusto. The two Signer Dragons fell back to the clouds in the sky, Jack and Crow scattered from the wildly retreating death, and riding with shaking limbs and heavy breaths, darkness trailing around his skin like a heavy fog, eyes tightly closed, visibly unharmed, was Yusei.

"You are wrong Goodwin," he continued, voice harsh and labored with pain they couldn't understand. "Through the power of these bonds"—he looked up with harsh blue eyes—"I will conquer your so called destiny!"

Crow and Jack stared at him with blatant amazement. Although neither had said it, both had feared that when those eyes opened, they would be confronted with the purple glow that had taken away their previous opponents. A sigh of relief was exchanged between them as Yusei's familiar eyes stared down their mutual enemy with the same cold determination he had been born with. The darkness remaining around his brilliantly red machine faded with their doubts, and anyone would assume that death had been defied again.

"But that's—!" Goodwin spluttered once and then recovered himself, glaring at the red duelist. "It doesn't matter what you believe! While you have simply conquered death, I have conquered destiny! You will all be defeated!"

"You are wrong," Yusei repeated softly, holding his opponents gaze calmly, something Crow noticed he had not done all night. "Make no mistake; you will lose because of our bonds Goodwin. You should not underestimate them; there is nothing more powerful in the world. Did you not become a Dark Signer simply to rid yourself of the pain your brother left you?"

Goodwin said nothing, so Jack took the mantle, "Enough of this prattle Yusei, actions speak louder than words! I'll show him our true power! Draw!"

Their eyes met, Yusei's dark with enlarged pupils, Jack's full of determined purple life. Sending the blonde duelist a nod, he fell back in formation across from Crow, who was stared at the duelist as if he had never seen anything quite like him before.

"I place one card face down!" Jack announced, restarting the duel with no problem. "Then I'll summon Magic Hole Golem (Atk: 0, Def: 2000) in defense mode!"

"That's the first time I've seen you use a defense monster, Jack!" Crow commented, still staring at the dark duelist riding beside him, waiting to lock eyes. They did so, and Crow felt his suspicions melt away. Those were the same blue eyes he had grown up with, those were the same eyes that smiled at him across the map in Team Satisfaction, and those were the same eyes that had shed a single tear earlier this day.

For some reason, a shiver ran down his spine.

"A defense monster has no place on the field of a King unless it gives me the opportunity to attack—which Magic Hole Golem does!" Jack shot back, oblivious to the transfer that occurred behind his back. As far as he was concerned, Yusei had trumped another King, and that was that. "Once per turn I can halve the attack power of one of my monsters and attack directly with that monster! So I'll use that effect on Mad Demon! Bone Splash!"

The monster launched itself through the offered hole and connected heavily with Goodwin's hologram, dropping the man's life points by 900.

"That's the only reason, eh?" Crow chuckled. "Well it's good enough for me—I activate the trap card Shadow Dance! When a monster inflicts battle damage by a direct attack, this sends 1000 points of damage along with it!"

"What?" Goodwin exclaimed before the shadows nailed him, damaging both his life points and speed counters.

**Goodwin: 6900 (2)**

"I activate my own trap card," Yusei continued, drawing the angry attention of the wounded duelist before him, "Riding Rush! When an opponent receives damage from a card effect, I can special summon a tuner monster from my hand."—Junk Synchron appeared on Yusei's field in a flash of orange light—"Goodwin, this is the power of bonds clustering together!"

"Show him what we've set up for you Yusei!" Jack demanded as he let his friend pass him.

"Ore no turn!" he responded, drawing his next card. With a quick glance at it, he returned his attention to the field and shouted, "I'll tune Junk Synchron into Max Warrior! Clustering cries shall become an arrow of echoes that tears the sky! Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Show yourself, Junk Archer (Atk: 2300, Def: 2000)!"

While the spectators marveled at the sight of their bonds coming so flawlessly together, at a team of duelists so powerful, they missed the shadows fall across the face of the one who connected them all, the calculating glance he gave Crow's remaining life points and single monster left on the field. By the time they could return their attention back to him, he was facing Goodwin once more, something decisive and hard in his eyes.

"Once per turn I can remove an opponent's monster from play through Junk Archer's special effect," he informed Goodwin, who, consequently, had been the only witness to what had just transpired below. Unconcerned by the queer look his enemy was giving him, he plowed on, knowing that Goodwin would deny what he knew in favor of what he wanted to believe, just as Crow would continue to pretend he had not caught on to the fact that Goodwin was the legendary duelist.

"I'll remove Moon Dragon Quilla. Dimension Shoot!" he declared, destroying the great dragon with the bright blue arrow of his powerful monster. "Now I'll have Junk Archer attack you directly!"

He played right into Goodwin's hand.

* * *

**Goodwin POV**

"This is what I have been waiting for Yusei! I will show you your bonds will destroy you! Trap card open! Sacrifice of Honor!" I declared. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jack's face twist into disbelieved outrage at the fact that I had denied to use it against his attack. Just as was necessary. "This stops your attack and allows me to special summon two Sacrifice Stone Tokens (Atk & Def: 0)! Then I can add one Earthbound God from my deck to my hand!"

I had to show them their place in my world, and while the other two would be overthrown easily enough, Yusei would not. The truth about the legendary duelist would crush the wild spirit of the non Signer, Jack's thirst to be King of Riding Duelists would allow him to understand, but Yusei was someone who I could not change. He was steadfast, like my brother, and would not let me show him anything. Just as he refused to show me anything other than lies.

I did not miss my brother. That could not be my reason for everything I did—no, by becoming a god I could save this world! I would bring peace by the legends of the Crimson Dragon and as promised by the King of the Underworld... damn it, how had _Yusei_ survived that contact?

The only possibility was unthinkable.

Rudger had been chosen as the Destroyer, and Yusei the Creator. Not the other way around. I wouldn't let it be that way.

But then what had I seen in his eyes when he was looking at his ally?

It didn't matter. It couldn't matter.

"That's a troublesome card..." the addressed muttered, before quietly placing two cards face down. He watched my Moon Dragon Quilla return in defense mode without comment, settling back beside his friends. He acted very much like Yusei Fudo, he dueled like Yusei Fudo, and he made speeches about the importance of bonds like Yusei Fudo...

... But...

I would bring out the truth. My brother had denied me that seventeen years ago, and I was not going to let the son of an old associate do the same now. Where the King had failed to, I would show him darkness and despair. I would break his soul and force him into the depression I had faced. I would make him see that a world without those feelings was the only cure—that a world like that could never happen unless I surpassed it with the powers of the Gods that started it.

I drew my card, spelling out the salvation of the world and their doom.

"I'll sacrifice my tokens to summon the ultimate God of Destruction!" I declared to the gasps of the people in my city. They would help fuel its appearance, they would all play a part in the future I would shape for them. "Appear now! Earthbound God Wiraquocha Rasca (Atk: 1, Def: 1)!"

Eyes turned to the sky; I watched the suddenly sacrificed souls of my citizens' float towards the summoning stone, playing the part of Momentum in a D-Wheel for my destiny to be paved. "How can you claim that I am wrong when fate has supplied me of everything I need?" I demanded of my sole opponent, feeling his cold eyes on my glowing crimson mark.

The time was ideal to break them. "I had access to the Signer legends because I am the Guardian by bloodline, my brother supplied me with the power of the fifth Signer and the power of the underworld, my position as Director allowed me to gather you and manipulate them, and all of this was possible because seventeen years ago I braved the gap between the Satellite and the City on my flying D-Wheel, losing my arm in the process to gain a new one!"

_"What?!"_ the other two cried, disbelief coloring their shock bring red as I predicted. They were rendered speechless for precisely thirty seconds, then the non Signer spluttered out, "B-but that's not possible!"

"Yusei can overthrow the Death God, and you have difficulty believing I was the legendary duelist?"

"You still are that man," Yusei commented, but offered nothing else in support of his statement. His friend glanced at him hopefully, wishing that he would say something to fix his dreams and protect the legend he had so foolishly clung to for all his life. The dark duelist met his eye, but didn't comment.

"Tonight is a night where all boundaries will be shattered!" I declared, watching the pained confusion blossom in the wild duelist's gray eyes. "What is deemed impossible, I have and will do! What destiny has ordered will be denied! A new world will be born from the ashes of the old! So appear now, the ultimate destruction of hope, Earthbound God Wiraquocha Rasca!"

Arriving with the calls of its King, the final piece of my victory against all evil appeared from the stormy clouds above my head, shrieking promised victory onto the dueling track of the Daedalus Bridge. It was the largest and most powerful of all its predecessors, and proved so with the concussions its wings created as it descended, felling the tower Jack Atlas had once called home as it appeared behind me.

Anyone left screamed in justified fear, fled for the lives they were wasting, something they should have done seventeen years earlier. Now it was just a useless feat, as the Signers and their supporters who still stood tall against me knew.

Yusei, as it should be, was not frightened by its appearance and was the first to spot something that would confuse all those fools, "It only has one attack point?"

"What kind of an Earthbound God only has one attack point?!" Crow repeated, grabbing at straws to reassure himself of his situation.

"Is this some kind of a joke Goodwin? We can't be beaten by a weakling like that!" Jack added sourly, his wounded pride already beginning to ripen. I chuckled at their impudence, at their blatant attempts to shield themselves from the truth, and turned to Yusei, finally ready to give him all the answer he needed for his endless questions.

And ready to find the answer for my own.

"Weakling? He is supreme against all others; he is the shadow of the King of the Underworld battling against the Crimson Dragon, caught in this useless cycle! But my power will free them from this war! It will free us all! The power of two gods!" I laughed, filled with the ecstasy of my impending victory. It was a sweet taste on my tongue to see Yusei turn from the duel and watch his sworn enemy grow in power. The flash of hatred across his face was all I needed to fuel my assumptions and find my answer.

"As you see, while your Crimson Dragon grows weaker without any Signer Dragons on the dueling field, my Earthbound God only grows more powerful! Your resistance will end soon enough, and you will see the world they can create together!"

"There is no such world, Goodwin," Yusei disagreed, offering me more lies with his tainted hands. He had to be some kind of devil in this duel if he could remain so untouched, so impartial to the forces working around him! Temptation was his only strength in this duel; he must be trying to lure me away from my goals with his talk of the bonds with my brother...

"I will not let you sway me Yusei!" I declared, feeling my muscles tense with all the anger I had built against that one mortal demon. "Your words have no power against a God! I will have you feel your own impossibility, powerlessness, and death! You will see that as long as you hold onto those bonds, you remain mortal and unable to surpass destiny! You will fall first!"

"And what power do you have to do that? A 'God' that would have to strike 4000 times to defeat him?" Crow hollered, confusion replaced by subtle anger. I smiled, self hatred was just one step in the right direction for him—he would understand soon enough.

"Not quite, once per turn my God can skip the battle phase and reduce an opponent's life points one," I replied, grinning at the shocked outrage splashing across his face. "So I will have Yusei take that effect."

"What kind of an effect is that?!" he demanded, cutting ahead of Yusei into the front, leading the pack about to fall.

"Don't be so angry at yourself," I answered, "this is the effect of a God, not of the man you held so high. He failed against destiny and lost his arm, so I surpassed him and gained this power you cannot hope to posses!"

I expected to be growled at, glared at, shouted at, and denied again and again by his quick tongue. I expected him to rant and rave against me and himself, call himself an idiot for believing the power of a man who was the most powerful enemy he would ever face.

But I expected many things from this duel, and this was the first that was denied to me.

"I'm not angry at myself for believing in you Goodwin," he frowned, gazing up at me with a flicker of Yusei in his gray eyes. Floored, I could not continue with the duel. His words were to out of place for me to register. "I'm angry at you for forgetting yourself. The legendary D-Wheeler that I believed in knew differently than you. Like Yusei said, you're letting yourself be deluded by the Death Gods. No! You are wrong Goodwin! You did not fail that day—you surpassed destiny that day!"

What? What was this? What was this runt saying?

His eyes no longer held any speck of the befuddled outrage they had moment ago, and I was confronted with yet another face I thought I would never see. My dear friend Dr. Fudo smiled at me from behind those eyes, chipper and self justified with his invaluable faith.

Something in my throat constricted.

"Even though it might have been impossible, even though you might have failed and died in the feat, even though the place you were leaving was deemed hopeless, even though you would have to start all over in the city, assuming you made it, you took that jump. You went against everything Security tried to deny us! You took our oppression, our impossibility, our powerlessness by the throat and carried it over your shoulder that day! You soared straight over destiny, leaving us with invaluable hope!"

"That is not true, the man that I was gave you nothing but lies to hold onto," I rebuked, glowering at his words. He could not understand, could never understand that I had failed that day in a way that could not be repeated. I clenched my brother's left arm apprehensively, barely feeling the sting of the foreign skin anymore.

"You're the one who's holding anger against himself Goodwin!" he declared, and I saw the same unbreakable spirit of Yusei in his eyes once more.

Only managing at strangled, "I—!" I fell back to my calm silent to hide my thoughts, the painful truth ringing in my ears.

"And although you might not be the same as you were before, I'll still hold on to your legend! Because you've struck my heart and I will not allow that hope to die!" he finished, leaving me in spiraling silence.

He looked up to me—his enemy? He did not hate me for doing something he could not understand? He still held what I did that day in his heart? He did not feel it was a failure? What was this... this feeling he gave me?

"I'll protect my friends that give it to me—especially Yusei, who holds all that hope! I'll take on your legend if you can't anymore Goodwin! Trap card open—Life Exchange! With this, I'll take the effect of your Earthbound God myself!"

"Crow!" Yusei called, stunned at the sacrifice about to take place because of him. Yusei—the sight of his cold face brought me back to my feet forcibly. This was the world where they would die because of the bonds they shared! And this orange haired duelist was going to prove it to him! Yet they saw it as what? A sacrifice to the greater good?!

A life to save thousands? One was too much—I would show them their mistakes!

"Fine then, I'll have you take it! Earthbound God Wiraquocha Rasca, Polar Star Obey!" I commanded of the great beast, feeling for the first time the power it sent through me—the dark rush of being able to finish an enemy and leave them dead at my feet.

Only the Signers and those who supported them had to fall—they stood in my way, the way of the brighter world, of a God! This was just in my world!

_"CROW!"_

Then why did their screams remind me of that destructive time in Momentum's light...? The cries of an infant child who used to giggle as he played with my fingers, the coughs of a dear friend as blood stained his lips, the laughter of my brother as he was claimed by the cycle we were trapped in, the explosion that destroyed it all...

_"Rudger! Dr. Fudo! Yusei!"_

No, I could not think of that. Those bonds would just destroy me. **(1)**

* * *

**Crow POV**

I saw certain death rushing towards me in a bright purple light. I heard all the friends I had gained and found through Yusei calling for me with fear. I felt the rush of adrenaline pounding in my ribcage, making my muscles jump and jerk about in their holders.

And I smiled.

"Yusei! Jack!"

I turned away from the light as it engulfed me, shouting the last things they needed to hear from me, "I activate the continuous trap card Black Feather Anchor and I release Black Feather Armored Wing! Give 'em hell!"

_"Crow!"_

The light swallowed me, and the sensation of flying engulfed me. Eyes wide open to my destiny; I saw the far off stars hanging above me and activated the wings on Blackbird, the last thing I could do for everyone in this duel. Life points plummeting, I soared high above the race track, proud to be riding the gales one last time.

Now for the farewell to the old legend, "Since I took battle damage through Life Exchange"—was this rasp really my voice?—"I can destroy one monster on my opponent's field. Since I can't get at that God deceiving you Goodwin, I'll destroy Moon Dragon Quilla! The mantle will be passed down from you, to me, to Jack, and to Yusei! We'll see this bridge through! Our legend will never die Goodwin!"

I stayed conscious long enough to see the moon dragon fall.

And then myself.

* * *

**Goodwin POV**

He was flying!

My initial astonishment replaced all of my other thoughts as I watched him soar high above the track, body and spirit smoldering in the aftermath of my God's assault. The fact that my Moon Dragon Quilla was in danger did not register as that boy—Crow—turned and grinned in my direction atop my own invention.

How was this possible?! He was nothing more than a Satellite runt! Being able to build and operate a flying D-Wheel was impossible! Yusei's survival was also impossible, as was their chances of victory in this match. And yet... they rode towards me together, soaring high above the misery I could throw at them?

A flicker of doubt sparked within me.

And then he rasped out his final words, betraying his unstable pain. "Since I took battle damage through Life Exchange I can destroy one monster on my opponent's field."

Although he spoke in no more than a whisper, he may as well have been screaming. Even in this sacrifice he was paving the way for his friends to get to me! Did he not see how foolish and useless this was? Why fight if you were ultimately going to fail and leave people grieving?

"Since I can't get at that God deceiving you Goodwin, I'll destroy Moon Dragon Quilla!"

God deceiving me? My mind flickered to the blue eyed duelist watching the flying machine in admiring awe, but I could not remove my eyes from the spectacle before me.

He wouldn't have it any other way, the next sentence was exclusively meant for me to hear, to understand. "The mantle will be passed down from you, to me, to Jack, and to Yusei! We'll see this bridge through! Our legend will never die Goodwin!"

But he could.

The though struck me as his mortal body finally failed him, sending him plummeting back towards the glowing bridge. It was a strange thing to watch, for as he fell, I couldn't help but see fine hair blowing from beneath a black helmet, muscles jerking to and fro as the man lost control and fell to the earth, the overwhelming fear as the ocean roared beneath me, and hope—so much hope to just make it to the...

No. I could not let myself fall back into that way of thinking.

Destiny was just showing me yet another image of a man failing to overcome it because of the weight of his bonds, because of his weak humanity, because of the lies he thrived on from those close to him...

My eyes were firmly closed when he hit the ground, to anyone else it would have appeared that I was smiling softly to myself at my first victory. But no, there was no joy in winning like this.

"A D-Wheel that cannot rune cannot have a turn," I stated flatly, feeling the burn of Jack's glare on my dead skin. He would of course blame me for the fate of his friend, he would not see that it was Crow's own fault for believing in those bonds, he would not see that the attack was meant for Yusei, he would not see that if he surrendered to me, a God, then he would not feel all this darkness...

The King of the Underworld promised me a world where joy was possible, a world without pain, destiny, or cruelty...

I would strive for that world. For my brother, for this fallen duelist, for the world. When my eyelids fluttered open, Yusei was staring at me, eyes full of flickering rage, as if like the light at the tip of a candle, bending to the will of the winds around him.

Abhor curdled in my still heart for him. He was the cause of all this suffering, he was the center of this chain of bonds, and his friends would fall in line and take the blows for him until he was the last one left, agonized, alone, without a person in the world to turn to, and the fault would be his own.

My lips pulled into a scowl as we stared each other down, and I tried not to show my repulse as his expression mirrored mine, almost like an afterthought.

This was the only way to make people like Yusei see. It was the only way to make my brother see, it is the only way to make the Signers see, the only way to make the world see. They must suffer to know the pain of being alone, they must die to appreciate life, and they must lose a loved one to understand hatred...

Had Yusei not been through all of this? Had we not put him through it?

Why couldn't he understand? Why were they still fighting? For those bonds that would kill them?

I frowned as the two called out for the fallen duelist again. As if they had a right to do so! It was their stupidity that led them into this battle, and it was my superiority that would end it!

"I place one card face down. You will soon witness the power of a god Yusei Fudo. You will see that you cannot surpass destiny while you have to rely on others to save you!"

Like a flash of a silver minnow in a raging ocean, fear darted through his dark eyes, catching in the firelight, before disappearing in the black tide. I would have felt empowered, justified, certain about my place in this duel if those eyes had been directed at me, but they were for the fallen duelist on the track. Though he was moving at impossible speeds on that D-Wheel, it was if he had frozen in time and spirit, as if part of him lingered there next to his unconscious friend in agony.

He turned towards me and glared at me with those large ink pupils swallowing the blue of his irises, as if he were seeing through a thick veil of darkness...

I narrowed my eyes and tried not to think, not to ponder, not to allow my thoughts to force the pieces together.

**Jack: 4000 (8)**

**Yusei: 4000 (8)**

**Goodwin: 6900 (5)**

* * *

**Jack POV**

"Crow!" I hollered, shouting at my friend pinned under Blackbird, immobile and lifeless. The unfamiliar taste of dread poisoning my tongue, I gripped the handles of the Wheel of Fortune so hard that my skin matched my gloves.

Yusei had fallen silent beside me after our final call, something open and frightened about him. Fear... that was always Goodwin's game, and I would not let myself fall into it! No, a King must stand tall above his subjects and allies! A King must pave the path of victory for his warriors! A King must show no mercy, no fear, no loneliness—no weakness at all! A Kingdom is only as strong as its leader, and God damn it, I am still the ruler here!

"I will avenge him!" I declared, shooting past the masked warrior at my side. Goodwin's attention wavered between the two of us, and my blood surged at his arrogance. With this turn, I'll show him the mistake he made by challenging us, ignoring me, overlooking the King and putting all of his anger on my sole rival!

Avid to commence, I jerked my next card from my deck and felt a long familiar presence respond from within. It was time then; my dragon would arrive and prove him wrong! "I summon Dark Sprocketer (Atk: 400, Def: 0) and tune him into Mad Demon! The Ruler's heartbeat will file through here! Witness its creation-shaking power! Synchro Summon! My soul, Red Demon's Dragon!"

Corresponding with the appearance of its Signer's Dragon, I watched the Crimson Dragon lash the King of the Underworld with its mighty wings, sending the monster into the surf just below our duel. Yusei flinched at the following earthquake and cries from the remaining wounded, so I continued, knowing that soon there would be no one left to rule over.

Goodwin did not feel the need for speed however. He seemed thickly oblivious to the pain he was causing around him as he commented in the same calm way Yusei did, "Although you have enough power to draw with my Sun Dragon Inti, you will be the one who will take 3000 points of damage King_._"

The word was an insult on his tongue. I'd teach him my true power!

"Do you think I'm stupid? I activate the trap card Half Straight! I cut my Red Demon's Dragon's attack in half, and if he has the less attack points that the strongest monster on your field I can attack directly (Atk: 1500)! So feel this heat, the flames of the ruler's heart! Absolute Power Force!"

"You are blinded by the Sun Jack! I activate the special effect of Sun Dragon Inti! I can reduce its attack points to zero once per turn, rendering your trap card useless!" Goodwin proclaimed with a wave of his fists, focus settling back to Yusei once more. Unnerved, I could do nothing but watch as my Dragon swerved closer to his, ready to be destroyed.

How could he so easily bat me to the side?! Why was he so intent on Yusei—why were all these Dark Signers so keen on him?!

"Jack!" Yusei called once, and I glanced at him, seeing nothing in his eyes for the first time tonight. I frowned, but said nothing. Yusei was strong; there was no need to worry about him, the center of our goals, even with these pretend gods tailing him. I'd blast a way through the army for him, and he's take out the King at the heart, like he was so good at doing.

Goodwin laughed once more, drawing my own waning attention with a start. It seemed Yusei wasn't only distracting our opponents in these fights. Our dragons grew closer still, and the fake god took it on himself to make yet another false speech about power. "Wiraquocha Rasca cannot be targeted by a monster; the only target remaining is my Sun Dragon Inti! Their battle was inevitable, as is my victory as a God over destiny in this duel! So tell me King Jack Atlas—what is it you will gain through this fight? You have already given up on those bonds that devil preaches about!"

"Jack." Yusei's hard voice was a soft reminder of his observing presence, and I couldn't help but feel caught between two struggling powers. I knew that was not correct—for one, I would rise above all quarrels and conquer them, for two, Yusei had never pushed me to do anything that I did not chose myself. Even two years ago, when he saw all the signs of my betrayal, the destruction of our bonds, he let me walk the path of the lonely King.

... Why had he? If he knew it would only bring me suffering, if he knew that I could never truly be the King I dreamed of being that way... why had he...?

"Yes, you once threw away all of those bonds Jack! You threw them away for a better path—the road of the King! You chose to isolate yourself from the world, to ignore your emotions and cut away all those bonds that made you weak to gain power! You have tasted the loneliness of a world full of pain—you have lived it in your struggle to be King! And why did you choose this path, even though you knew it would be difficult?"

The loneliness of being King... am I so easily read? First Yusei sees through my façade, now my enemies? I will not have it!

"If it is unavoidable—Red Demon's Dragon will crush the sun with all of my strength! Absolute Power Force!" I commanded of my great beast, showing it the path towards victory with a jab of my closed fist.

Two dragons born of fire met in roaring combat, searing each others skin with the powerful heat they exhaled. The Sun Dragon withered where it had once shined brightly, opening the path for my next play and the revival of the moon. There was a moment of twilight, and I saw myself standing high above the city with her, a few final words and meaningful smiles between us.

The moon would follow the sun, the darkness would descend upon the field, just as it had overwhelmed her in the end, but I would not fail again. Jack Atlas would not break his vow to be a great King to someone like Carley. She was everything that I had, everything that I needed, and her glasses bore a familiar weight on my heart as I watched my soul shatter on the dueling field and my life points plummet.

**Jack: 2500 (7)**

**Yusei: 4000 (8)**

**Goodwin: 5400 (4)**

Goodwin's taunts fell on deaf ears as he spoke of destiny, of the path of a King, of useless bonds that only made people weak, that made people share burdens, and that collapsed if even one link was broken in the cycle...

I could not take this idiocy in my presence any further. I may not have been Yusei, for although he claims he doesn't have the power to save anyone, he would have found a way to save Carley like he had Misty, like he had Kiryu, like he had Aki, and like he was trying to do to Goodwin. No, I was not someone like that. I was not strong with my words and did not have unending faith in the bonds between people.

But I had fallen in love with someone who did: someone whose last breath was for me, whose last kiss was still on my lips, who tears stained my soul, whose story would not be shared before this battle came to a close.

I had a vow to keep; a vow to change my ways for her. I would start with Goodwin.

"The moon returns with the fading echo of the sun!" he reminded us, summoning his dark dragon to the war. "So your attacks were useless in the end. You are no closer to defeating me than you were at the beginning of this duel; life points are insignificant when there are so many to spare. It is the same with emotions and bonds. You have found this to be true, and to get at me, the object standing in your way to be King, you are willing to throw them away, just as you were before! That is your destiny that cannot be overturned. That is your vicious cycle!"

"I have done many things I regret," I began as softly as I ever had, feeling her watchful eyes on my face, "and I have experienced the loneliness you speak of. I tossed my friends and bonds to the side, but it brought me no satisfaction. I was King, but it was a hollow victory. I had everything and nothing. But you're forgetting Goodwin—Yusei alleviated me of those feelings! I am not King—I was never King!"

Looking for all the world like a kicked mutt, Goodwin fell into a seething silence, waves of hellish anger burning on his chest for 'the devil' he believed my sole rival to be.

"And by making me give up everything, he made me realize that there was nothing to lose in a life like that! And in that crushing nothingness, I found something more important than being King, than anything I had ever had before! I found someone, Goodwin, who understood me as I was, not as a false King," foreign emotions choked up my throat, making my words thick and powerful in the dead moonlight. Yusei's eyes were knowingly watchful, a strange weight on my shoulders.

"And what is that?" the idol sneered, hatred breaking through his tough mask as the light had from Yusei's when he spoke of his father. "A bond of friendship? That is worthless here!"

"It was not friendship," I scoffed, touching the pocket where I held her last testament. "I found love Goodwin, the love of one woman. And because of you, she suffered and died in my arms. Because of this perfect world you are striving to create, this mirage that the sun and moon are leading you to, you destroyed an innocent life!"

"It was your choice to challenge her," he retorted coolly, crossing his arms as if dismissing the subject. "And it's your feelings that are wounding you now, not my actions."

"Goodwin! I will not forgive you for what you've done!" I hollered under the scrutinizing gaze of the Gods beside us. "You should not condemn Yusei, for he is a better man than I! He is trying to understand and save you while I can do nothing but spit in your direction! You are the root of your own suffering! People are lonely all the time—but it takes new bonds and promises from old ones to get over it! My pain for her gives me the will to fight, the will to crush people like you who cannot hope to understand!"

"I cannot hope to understand?" he repeated, shaking his head sympathetically in my direction. Anger flashed through me, hot and wild like brush fire in the dead summer air. "It is you who deny yourself comprehension Jack. And for that I will take you and offer you to my god who will save this world from stories like yours."

"The King of the Underworld," Yusei commented suddenly, voice flat against our battling emotions, "seems to specialize in stories such as that."

"Coming from the devil of this old world," Goodwin shot back, something wavering as he stared into those blue eyes, "I have nothing to fear from your lies. This was all necessary to create a utopia through my power!"

"Then see what I will do to stop that from happening!" I declared, playing a card that would have gotten me nowhere earlier in this turn. **(2)** "I activate the speed spell Half Life which allows me to halve one of your monster's attack points and gain life points equal to that amount! Now I place one card face down and end my turn—strike his heart Yusei!"

"My monster regains its attack points at your end phase," Goodwin pointed out, noticeably unworried by my plays.

"It doesn't matter," Yusei intervened, drawing the last card I would be around to see tranquilly. "The damage has been carried out already. Surely you cannot keep deluding yourself, as you said before, you are as capable as piecing together a puzzle as I am. I can see how shocked you are that Crow and Jack were not crushed by your games, no matter how deeply you bury it. We shared a destiny at one point Goodwin, but you have not risen above it. You have buried yourself in it. I will show you the path I walk upon—the path where my bonds have taken me! You will witness our ascension past fate!"

_Shared a destiny?_

I could not pretend that Yusei's answer did not confuse me, that his suggestions did not send cold chills down my spine. But I could ignore it, as I had been doing all night, and have faith that Yusei would do as he said and surpass whatever it was that was making him say such odd things.

That was a mistake that held terrible consequences, consequences that silenced my breath and crowded my soul, and that sent bereavement into my heart for a star's life caught in death's echo.

Yusei.

**Jack: 3700 (8)**

**Yusei: 4000 (9)**

**Goodwin: 5400 (5)**

"I activate Junk Archer's special ability to remove Moon Dragon Quilla! Dimension Shoot!"

But Goodwin was prepared for him this turn, and just as before, he used a card that he had failed to activate with my attack. "I won't let you complete that! Continuous Trap Card open! Destruction Portion! This allows me to send Moon Dragon Quilla to the grave and gain life points equal to its attack points. The moon vanishes before the arrow can strike; and the sun will rise again! So bear witness to _my_ path Yusei! The true might of a duelist who has surpassed destiny!"

**Goodwin: 7900 (5)**

"Your special ability can only be used once per turn, and your archer can't stand up to the might of Sun Dragon Inti!" he continued, insane reassurance in his laughter.

_Sun Dragon Inti: 3000 Atk_

_Junk Archer: 2300 Atk_

"Friends, bonds, and love—they can't do anything to affect destiny! Fate is set in stone from birth, and it laughs at all of you for trying to surpass it! You will all be stopped by it through me; I am destined to defeat you! That is the only path Yusei: not the path of a legend, a King, or of bonds, but the path of a new god! Your lies fall on deaf ears!"

"You are correct Goodwin," Yusei said suddenly. "I have lied to you; I have been lying to you, but not about the strength of bonds and the path I walk on."

"What nonsense are you spouting now?!" he demanded with a glare deadly enough to kill.

My eyes shifted back to Yusei, even further confused than before. Shared destiny? Lies? What was going on here damn it?!

"I have not shown you my path yet Goodwin," he clarified softly, "but you have forced my hand. This turn, you will see why your world cannot come to pass. You will see how I lied to you."

But instead of pulling out a complicated combination with all of our cards like he usually did, Yusei Fudo turned to me and smiled.

And his arrow pierced the heart of a king.

* * *

**Third Person POV**

There was no way they could have seen it coming—not with all their astonished attention on his remarkable conquest of death, not with the relief of his familiar voice distracting them, not with those blue eyes staring down evil on the battlefield, not with the laughter of the King in the air.

But they didn't have to see it, they heard it, they felt it, for just a moment, echo through Jack's plummeting life points before they were lost to the ultimate enemy. His scream followed shortly and stopped abruptly; bringing their attention to something they wished they had not seen.

Yusei was gone.

* * *

**(1) Sorry if I epically failed at Goodwin's POV. Writing a villian who thinks that he is saving the world is difficult... and really fun. Try it sometimes :)**

**(2) Can he do this? I'm not great with duels... I know the basic rules in the show... but...**

**And now, time to run again. Thanks for reading!**

**~AxJfan**


	11. Choice

**Eh... hehehehe... I kind of went a little crazy and wrote a thrity page chapter, which had to be split in two...**

**Oops.**

**So here's the first part, the next chapter is part two, and then I will write the Epilogue and finish this fic up!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh 5ds.**

* * *

**Choice**

**Jack POV**

_Not again._

It was all I could think as Yusei's monster punched a hole through my heart.

_Not again._

Although the pain was horrendous and jarring, I did not scream for that—I hollered for the damage that had been dealt before the arrow had hit home.

This could not... how could I have allowed this to... Yusei was not...

_Not again! No! I will not allow it!_

But my words were empty, thrown in the helpless whirlwinds that engulfed the Wheel of Fortune and knocked it off course. They were as weak as my trembling limbs, transparent as my agonized face, useless as bitter defeat.

For the second time tonight, I watched the hood fall away. I saw blue eyes that I had come to love cut me. I stared at them without words, without action, without comprehension. I looked at a tragedy that I could not fix, that I had a hand in causing.

Barely registering my remaining life points, I felt myself take control of my machine as if through a heavy fog, caught up in one single word, one that I had sworn to the heavens I wouldn't have to ask again. One that pounded in sync with my exposed heart—one that drove out everything else in my mind.

Why?

_Then tell me how you all plan to support someone who will not tell you the truth? Someone who is perhaps against you? How can you trust him when he does not trust you? The scales are tipped in my favor, aren't they Yusei? Yusei can overthrow the Death God and you have difficulty believing I was the legendary duelist?_

_Through this duel you will find that answer. _

With all my pride, arrogance, power, and resolve desolated with my life points, all that was left within me were the echoes I should have heard, the warnings I avoided, denied, the questions I should have asked...

Now I had the answers.

Answers I couldn't accept.

**Goodwin POV**

... This... what... it couldn't...

"But that cannot be!" I shouted finally, feeling the familiar sensation of the color draining from my borrowed skin. He glanced up at me without interest, completely unbothered by the attack he had just completed against his friend—the bonds that he seemed so adamant about protecting!

"You are the chosen Creator—not the Destroyer!" I blurted, coming undone with one simple play. This should have been some form of twisted proof about bonds, this should have been a situation that I designed to make them see the truth, this should have been so many things that it was not.

Yusei Fudo shouldn't have—couldn't have!—just willingly attacked Jack Atlas. There had to be some kind of logical explanation, something that I missed, something small and otherwise meaningless that would mean everything in the end... something... anything other than...

"That is why I have lied to you, Goodwin," the devil continued, "because you cannot surpass what doesn't exist. Destiny is just your scapegoat, something you can blame for the pain that your bonds brought you. But it is as false as the world you dream about, for that world has already come to pass."

Already come to pass?!

"Quiet your tongue Yusei!" I demanded, desperate for the control that he had stolen with 2300 of Jack's life points. Distractedly, I jerked over to spot the other duelist regaining control a while back, doing otherwise nothing at all. He simply gaped at his friend and clutched his aching heart as I did, whether from the damage or the attack I could care less.

This... this had to be what I had suspected—Yusei was simply evil, someone who hid behind the mask of a friend and then eagerly stabbed backs to get closer to his goals. That... that had to be...

"You have finally shown yourself to be the devil I've known you are!" I repeated, hoping that by saying it, it would be true. Then, for added power, "By allowing myself to die and be reborn, I have allowed myself to create the world to my choosing while forcing you to become someone who cannot defeat me! The legends of the Creator and the Destroyer—the people who will be chosen by the Gods to fight for the world! My brother was the Destroyer and was defeated, leaving you, who was saved by the power of the Crimson Dragon and thus chosen as the Creator! You are now part of this legend Yusei, and because I will change it, you will perish in the ashes!"

"You misread those tales Goodwin."

"What are you saying?!" I interrupted, something wildly human beating in my chest. "What do you know of those legends Yusei, having grown up in the Satellite without access to that knowledge?! Have you heard the whispers of the King, listened to the roars of the Crimson Dragon, been chosen by destiny to go beyond the power of either gods?"

"Yes."

I spluttered to an incoherent halt, eyes wide, arm extended mid swing. He...? They...? But...!

"You say that destiny will choose a King of Destruction and the Crimson Dragon's Creator?" he elaborated calmly, eyes locked on me as they had for the entire duel. "You are wrong to think that they would choose two different people—you should have known better when you watched your brother suffer between their curses."

"Yusei?" It was Jack, emerging enough to force out the empty name. I watched Yusei spare the shocked victim an almost reassuring glance before the speech was continued, sending shivers down the paralyzed ex King's spine. What was this? He still cared for his friend even after mercilessly attacking him?!

How was this possible? How could he ride so calmly towards me while his friend gapes at him with wounded astonishment? How could his expression remain unchanged after attacking his comrade? How can he look at me without guilt as he goes back on everything he had spent this duel ranting about?

What was he?

Or rather, with the supposed whispers of my King and Dragon in his ears, with the claims to otherworldly power, with the beating heart of a human emerging from hell, with the same soul as the child I used to watch over...

Who was Yusei Fudo?

He seemed partial to answer my question, to make me _comprehend_, "Only one is Chosen by these battling gods, only one can tip the balance of power in these wars. That is the so called destiny of the Creator or Destroyer that you speak of. But that person cannot exist, for there is no such thing as destiny. As I have been trying to show you Goodwin, it is the choices a person makes that rule their life, and this holds true with everything you have experienced, everything you blame 'fate' on."

"How dare you!" The words were burning on my tongue, rough with the force of hatred. "You have no place speaking lies to a God Yusei! Fate is the one to blame for everything that happens—its hands are long and greedy, it touches all and poisons humanity! That is why I must destroy the world that it rules!"

"No, Goodwin, the only lies you have heard in this speech are those you tell yourself! You have seen what I speak about firsthand!"

Firsthand?

The presence of my brother's arm was suddenly overwhelming. This is what Crow was speaking about before he died; this is the same sob story that I will not listen to again!

"Humanity is what rids us of the burdens of destiny. We have the capacity to love, to make bonds, to reach for a brighter future, and these elements break the chains that bind imaginary gods like you!"

"End your turn and see how _imaginary_ I am Yusei," I threatened, blocking out his powerful words will all the concealed rage my soul festered. Seventeen years of blaming fate for the deaths of my brother and his parents, along with thousands of others, was not something he could just talk away. "And you haven't spoken one word of the truth."

"If you wish to hear the truth," he replied with all the tranquility he had robbed me of, "then listen. You were correct when you claimed your brother was chosen as the first battleground between the Gods. You were correct to assume that fate touched him that day. You were correct to presume that he was sucked in by the vicious cycle in a world that never changes. But you were wrong to believe that it made him into who he was! He was never the Destroyer you speak of—he never could have been!"

"Lies!" I spat immediately, rage frothing in my seething mind. "My brother was overpowered by the darkness—that is why he told me to defeat him with the Signers! And you—some devil—was chosen by the Crimson Dragon to tempt me away from the path towards destiny! You are the test I need to pass; the last challenge fate can throw at me!"

"No Goodwin—I am not that person. That is not the path I have chosen," Yusei denied, all the qualities I had seen in him as a child shining in his eyes. "That was not the path Rudger followed either. You cannot begin to imagine the pain of eternal death because life will not release you. You cannot begin to imagine the grief of life while death whispers in your ear."

Not know the pain...? Not know the pain! I suffered through seventeen years of that pain! He was the one who didn't—

_... That sacrifice, the one who had tumbled into Momentum based on the last demand to Rudger, the one who might truly come back from the dead..._

I stopped.

The thought at the time had been a chance at the most, something that I did not truly think was possible... dead was dead, after all, even now I knew I would never be alive again. And I knew that Yusei did not die, that much would have been obvious at this point.

But he hinted that he knew that pain, that he had suffered through the blinding agony... but he had obviously been protected by the Crimson Dragon. Then... what if when he returned he had... what if...?

No.

No, I couldn't—I would eliminate that threat! "Have you forgotten? I have already died Yusei! I know that pain well—I know what it feels like to submit to this never ending cycle!"

His eyes narrowed slightly, something I had become accustomed to in the last week of contact we'd had. The familiarity was reassuring and grotesque at the same time. This was the same Yusei Fudo I had held as a child, this was the same boy that I had trapped into competing in my tournament, and yet at the same time...

"You made that choice yourself Goodwin. You chose to become a Dark Signer, as did Rudger, as did Kiryu, as did Demark, as did Misty, and as did Carley. You all made that choice to surpass destiny—you prevented yourselves from becoming part of that cycle!"

"Part of that Cycle?" I echoed, wondering now if the boy was even sane. Had all of this madness finally broken him? Did he not see that the fact we Dark Signers were even here was because of the cycle? "How can you assume that while you ride towards me, the last God standing, while leading the Signers? This is fate's cycle! It will never come to end!"

He shook his head slightly, "The only never-ending cycle is the battle between life and death Goodwin. That is the cycle you speak of—that cannot be stopped unless destiny is surpassed. And while you bear those marks, you have made yourself into someone who cannot surpass it! Creator or Destroyer—it does not matter! The bearer of two marks is weakest at his highest, for he can only be so by not making a choice at all! He must walk a thin line between the two battling gods—he must bear all the pain their shared presence gives him! And when the time comes, he must make a decision—the last testimony of himself—without the guidance of either god within him! And that is what binds him!"

The last testimony of himself? The Creator and Destroyer existing as one person? How could he even think that this nonsense was true? What was the purpose of this discussion—he was just wasting his remaining time!

"Do you understand?"—there it was again, _understanding—_"Your Creator, Your Destroyer, is simply a human body occupied by the gods that survives long enough to have one last wish carried out before they consume it."

_Consume it. _

I glanced down at the darker arm attached to my elbow, giving my enemy further ammunition to tempt my hand.

"He couldn't take that suffering! Rudger killed himself Goodwin!"

My hands closed into fists around the hard edges of the stone table, littering meaningless imprints of the ancient language across my palm. Rudger... big brother...

Somehow just hearing it said out loud for the first time... the gravity of it...

But still, even though it caused me pain to speak of it, Yusei wouldn't stop, "He killed himself by cutting off his Signer arm, ending his connection with the Crimson Dragon! He carried out the ultimate act of selfishness instead of playing any role, and was revived as a Dark Signer as a result of the King's presence within him. With such a powerful connection to death, it was no wonder he became the leader of the Dark Signers! That had nothing to do with fate! It was your brother's choice to commit suicide!"

Suicide... isn't that what I had done in the end as well? What we all had done?

Something was wavering in my resolve, something by the way he called our acts selfish. I agreed that Rudger's act had been selfish, Kiryu's, Demark's, Misty's, Carley's... they had all been to escape pain and suffering... but I...

_You seem to overlook the fact that I was a major contributor to the Old Momentum Project as well. But I suppose that doesn't matter any longer, does it? The world's forgotten and moved on from that tragedy, or at least my world has._

**_But have you?_**

I...

No! No!

"If you are not the Creator you do not have the power to stand up against me, and I will crush you with the power of my Gods!" I shouted to his knowing blue eyes, denying everything that he was throwing at me, everything that my heart that should have died was screaming for. "If you are implying that you are the vessel that the Gods have chosen Yusei, then you are horribly mistaken! The King has promised only me power, he would not chase after some insignificant Signer."

He would not... he would not latch onto one demon-like teenager who fell into his domain... he would not take hold... he would not...

"That is how I lied to you Goodwin."

No! No! No!

"You keep saying that," I snapped, grasping at the straws I had seen Crow reach for earlier, "and yet you fail to speak your point."

"You refuse to understand," Yusei replied with a mild glance at the Crimson Dragon's mark on my chest. The temptation to cover it was almost too strong for me to resist. But I had nothing to hide—nothing to be ashamed for! This was my duel; this was the duel for the sake of the world!

"Because you only spout nonsense! Get to the point if you are trying to reach a God Yusei! Finish your speech, end your turn, and perish in my flames!"

"I will not allow myself to fall while my friends are in danger. And that is why..." he trailed off vaguely, as if he had begun to stay something he wished to keep quiet. Then, abruptly, he said, "You want the point of this? Then listen carefully: If the road they choose is that of the Creator, the Crimson Dragon, then their last breath will be to win the war for those they love. If the road they choose is that of the Destroyer, the King of the Underworld, then they will live on until defeated—they will win the war to protect their bonds."

Something horrible registered within me, something I could not deny. "To protect—?"

"Now do you see? The only reason you live is because you held onto your brother so tightly. Hate has nothing to do with the revival of Dark Signers—it is through the strength of their bonds that they rise to fight! And they are defeated because those bonds are reestablished; only love can motivate a person to give another eternal peace instead of a half life of suffering!"

"I am not suffering because of him you devil!"

"No, you are suffering because of me," he whispered softly, "and yourself. It has always been the power of choices and bonds that lead a person towards their future Goodwin, and you have allowed me to make your choices for you. That is why you will not succeed."

"Allowed you...? But I have only..." Realization flooded into my face with the chalk white pallor of death, reaching my eyes with the sting of betrayal. "Then... by sending you to your death in Momentum..."

"You made me realize myself Goodwin," Yusei finished.

"Then you are a Dark Signer?!" I exclaimed, hoping against hope that was the case, denying the weight of knowledge on my broad shoulders. I had told him earlier that I could fit together puzzle pieces as effectively as he could, but we both knew that I could not bear those consequences. Ignorance was all the sweeter.

"In a manner of speaking," he replied, then continued, "I am not a Signer at all. The choice has not been made yet Goodwin; you've manipulated the stakes by taking on that duty for yourself."

"The choice hasn't been..." I repeated, eyes widening. My large hands found the glowing mark across my chest and trembled with bitter rage. I had been tricked, deceived, lied to, once again. More proof that this world needed to be changed. "Then you are like my brother! Without the power of the Crimson Dragon running through you—you are the King of the Underworld!"

The announcement seemed to echo through the empty streets of the city; it chased down every dark shadow, every corner, every unwilling ear, and let them all know that the only person who could save them was meant to destroy them; it let them know that the cost of one mistake was going to kill them all, no matter the victor in this duel; it let them know that hope had forsaken them; it let them know that destiny was finally knocking on their doors.

The sounds of weeping carried it even further, into the hearts of those who loved their sworn enemy.

The stood frozen against the ocean, denying the truth with everything they had, wishing in their own unique ways for something to shield them, for something to protect themselves, for Yusei to somehow do what their Dark Signer opponents couldn't, to do what was impossible, to break past the King and show them the strength of bonds once more.

But they knew those thoughts were only lies, and tears spilled past their lashes. "Yusei..."

He acknowledged them briefly, something sad flickered the depths of his eyes, before destroying them further, "I have always been that; this was my destiny as the Creator and Destroyer. But through the bonds that I cherish, I have been saved, and through the bonds that you've severed, you've given me something that I could not have otherwise."

"Life," I whispered.

"Now you see," he whispered and finally ended his turn.

I felt my jaw moving without words coming, I heard the shock pounding in my eardrums, I tasted my soul blacken at the thought that my selfish sacrifice would not be worth anything, I saw the only salvation the world had left opposing me, I smelled the possibility of defeat in the air.

Was all of this really for nothing? Had my world come to pass right underneath my nose? Was this some grave mistake—some chain of errors started by my brother and ended by Yusei?

No—not Yusei. The King of the Underworld, the face behind the mask.

The King only wanted one thing then—to combine the Underworld with this one, and if he was acting through Yusei Fudo, the son of my long dead friend...

As my shock faded, the anger returned, acting as a catalyst to a future that I would not allow to happen.

Then I would show him how selfless my sacrifice had been by saving the boy from his presence before destroying him! He would see then—they would all understand my motives in this duel! They had to!

"It does not matter that you stand against me King! If by some mistake I have saved Yusei and allowed you to betray me, then I will fix it by destroying you! I will rise above destiny! I will take my place as God!"

I had to; it was the only thing left.

Yet somewhere, somehow, I knew that I had never even held that.

**Jack POV**

"You made that choice yourself Goodwin. You chose to become a Dark Signer, as did Rudger, as did Kiryu, as did Demark, as did Misty, and as did Carley."

Her name broke me out of whatever trance those blue eyes had hurtled me into. Yusei could not possibly know Carley's name! I had not told anyone about her before this battle—I had not even spoken her name when I set Goodwin straight earlier! That word was a whisper that had not escaped my lips!

Then this could not be Yusei unless...

_I continued to gape blankly at the empty space besides Carley. He had been standing there. I was sure of it. But how could he have been?! Did that mean—? Could he really be...?_

He had been there! It had not been a trick of the light or an aftereffect of that strange vision Carley had been shown! Yusei had been there one minute and vanished the next, like a ghost of someone long lost, drawn by the light of our shared marks.

But he couldn't have been some wayward spirit—not while he rode in front of me with the same eyes and soul he had been born with! What was this madness? What had happened to him in 'the light of Momentum' as Crow had put it?

Whatever had happened... based on his attack now... should I treat him as an enemy?

"Then you are like my brother! Without the power of the Crimson Dragon running through you—you are the King of the Underworld!"

The King?! No, this could not be correct!

"I have always been that; this was my destiny as the Creator and Destroyer. But through the bonds that I cherish, I have been saved, and through the bonds that you've severed, you've given me something that I could not have otherwise."

Something that he...?!

"Life."

Life?! Life?! Yusei had that and more—I had witnessed that in our last duel against each other! I had seen that in his eyes, I had seen that through his battle, I had seen that when he fought back and hit me across the face at Goodwin's mansion!

"Now you see."

No! I don't see! This did not make sense—how could it? Looking at him and truly seeing him all showed me the same thing—Yusei Fudo! Not some deceiving god overshadowing his spirit!

Then was it true? Had my sole rival always been the King?

"It does not matter that you stand against me King! If by some mistake I have saved Yusei and allowed you to betray me, then I will fix it by destroying you! I will rise above destiny! I will take my place as God!"

I couldn't.... I couldn't believe in those words!

This was still Yusei somewhere in there, and like Carley, he was suffering in the darkness. I would bring him out; I would save him where I had failed her!

This was the mission of a King!

"Trap Card Open! Demon's Chain!" I slashed in, drawing the wrath of Goodwin's betrayed black eyes. "With this I can bind Sun Dragon Inti and prevent it from attacking or being released."

As my chains bound his powerful dragon in place spit foamed at the corners of his mouth and he forced out his next words, the muscles in his neck strained and bulging in the effort.

"What?! Even now you protect him?! Can you not see this is my point?! This is the devil that will kill us all—that has been plotting to do so all along!" he hollered, livid desperation shaking my resolve. Looking at him... those eyes, desperate to make me see some other way... no!

"Goodwin, can you not see?" the imposter asked almost sadly, not an ounce of mocking hatred poisoning Yusei's neutral tones. "This is the power of bonds. They will fight for me even though they know the truth because of the history between us. They will fight to restore what they had before, and they will not stop, will not pause for breath, and will continue on relentlessly until a victor has been determined in this war. As long as they still have hope, the will not stop, and as long as they see me as that beacon..."

"You are not that beacon!" I disagreed, pounding my fists into the Wheel of Fortune for more acceleration. We drew level to each other and I was struck by the image of him passing me in the tournament only a few days prior, shocked that his eyes held that same hard look, almost as if daring me to chase after him.

"I understand why you think that way," he answered. "But I have not changed Jack. I am still Yusei even though you only see the King you fight against. I do not want to hurt you, but I will if it means that I can stop this cycle."

"Then you—!" Goodwin began to only cross swords with his enemy and lose, throat slit by glaring cobalt eyes.

"Our goals are not the same," the false King intercepted, sweeping smoothly over the fake God's utterance. Removing one gloved hand from his grip, he placed it over his heart, eyes turned to the hidden stars, and continued, "You wish to make the world into you pet phoenix. When you grow weary or bored, when it pains you or gives you hardship, you will simply slaughter it to start anew. Where is the happiness in that world? What satisfaction could that possibly bring you?"

"Enlighten me then! What will your goals bring? How do you plan to end suffering and to protect your bonds while you kill them?" Goodwin commanded, showing once again the little respect he had for Kings. It seemed that he had a horrible track record with us; he thought he controlled me and here I am against him; he thought he controlled the King of the Underworld and he rides beside me, impersonating my dear friend! Even I could tell that he was going to pay dearly for mistreating a King, and this time it would not be from my hand.

I spared the imprisoned dragon a glance while the puppet Yusei frowned up at his denied ruler, wondering if I had just imprisoned myself with this move as well. In order to free the sun Goodwin would have to reduce my life points past 1000, so he would attack me with Wiraquocha Rasca's special effect.

I was already wounded enough from Junk Archer's attack; though blood there was not, pain there was much. My arms and legs were weak, my D-Wheel faltered against this uphill climb, threatening to topple if I could not produce the strength to keep it upright. I would not make it through that attack still standing, I would join Crow on the sidelines.

But that did not mean I was useless by any means! This may be the last turn I see, but I will use it to set up Yusei for victory—Yusei, not some monster of death. He reached for me through our bonds, and I'll do the same for him.

_I'll_ make him see.

"You want to know about my world Goodwin?" he doubted slowly, trailing the length of the chains as well, and I couldn't help but wonder if he had guessed my thoughts. "You had your chance to do that already."—he gestured towards the thick purple lines tracing Goodwin's skin, then the battling gods off to the side—"Though I suppose you will see it one way or another at the end of this duel."

"So you intend to bring the Underworld here? And you claim I will only bring destruction!"

"How would you know what the Underworld is like Goodwin? You haven't roamed its paths. None of you have seen it, yet you all seem to think it would be hell on earth."

As if being force fed something particularly nasty, Goodwin's mouth snapped closed. But where he clung onto denial and lies I, the true King, would reveal the truth with the questions that couldn't be ignored!

"And you—you've seen it Yusei?!"

He nodded, dampening my hope, "That was Goodwin's doing. It is not some horrible place Jack; it is a resting place."—even the way he said my name was the same! Shouldn't it change if he was the King? Shouldn't he see me as an enemy Signer?—"And by combining the two worlds... that is the only way to stop death. By turning this place into a sanctuary where people would never die, would never leave your side... that is the world where bonds thrive. That is the world that surpassed destiny, and that is the world you crave for Goodwin. Even you Jack"—startled, I shot him a look—"would find what you have lost in my world. Death is never the end; it is just the next journey."

"Find what I lost...?" I repeated, hearing her laugh far off in the distance. "You are lying! You're twisting the bonds I have with Carley like you did to her, like you're doing to Goodwin! I've seen your world through the vision you gave Carley False King!"—honest surprise lit up the stars in his eyes—"And I know that your world without death is also a world without life!"

"Without life?" he pondered. "Do you think I am lifeless then Jack, having come from that place?"

"Yes!" I shouted, brining the Wheel of Fortune parallel to his red D-Wheel, ignoring how he even rode the same way Yusei did. "Having come from a place like that, you don't know death or life! And that's why you are stealing it from Yusei, which I will not allow! You can see bonds King, but you don't understand them! That's why Yusei will break free for us; he will defeat you through the help of Crow and me! Then I will bring that experience of death onto you myself!"

His eyes narrowed at the challenge. "You wish to kill me Jack, even though it would mean that you would lose your image of me as well?"

"What do you mean? Speak plainly!" I snapped.

"What I mean," he replied, ripples of anger cleared from his face, "is if you destroy 'the King', you will also destroy 'Yusei'."

Though I said nothing, he read my eyes as easily as he could create bonds.

"We are not two separate people Jack. It is as I've already told you, I am Yusei and I am the King. So kill me if you must, if you can. At the end of this duel, that choice will be forfeited to fate, for I will gain my life of immortality instead of a cursed half life."

"Cursed half life?" He had mentioned that before, something about the Dark Signers, something about love and twisted bonds... This must be the way to save him!

"So do you have it?"

He was toying with me! "Have what?!"

For the first time, something alien sparkled across the inky sky of Yusei's eyes. Amusement, as if I were some new gadget that he had stumbled across, taken apart, put back together, and was now watching teeter around helplessly. This was the look of the devil that Goodwin had been trying to spot. This was the malevolent spirit overshadowing Yusei.

Giving me the same smile as before, he whispered, "Do you have that drive Jack Atlas?"

"What drive?! Get to the point!"

As was Yusei's nature, he did far more than that, he stabbed me with it.

"Do you love me enough to end my suffering?"

**Aki POV**

_You cannot begin to imagine the pain of eternal death because life will not release you. You cannot begin to imagine the grief of life while death whispers in your ear._

_Your Creator, Your Destroyer, is simply a human body occupied by the gods that survives long enough to have one last wish carried out before they consume it._

_I have always been that; this was my destiny._

_Only love can motivate a person to give another eternal peace instead of a half life of suffering!_

"Do you love me enough to end my suffering?"

That question was not just posed to Jack; I could feel it echo through my very own blood as well. My other half, Black Rose Dragon, flew just above my treasured person, an excellent position to attack him and take out this King, this enemy that was slowly killing my beloved Yusei...

To end his suffering... did I love him enough?

My throat burned as I coughed up a half strangled sob, pressing my hands to my face. Tears traced the lines of my palms and fell to the dusty shores, mixing with the ocean surf at my feet, swallowed by the greater forces working around me.

Through my exposed powers, I felt the trembling around me as my new friends struggled with the question themselves... when this duel was over and Yusei stood victorious, could we challenge him and defeat him knowing we would be killing him?

Did we love him enough to end his suffering? He surely would be agonized as he was used to destroy the world he cherished, the people that he loved, all of his wonderful friends and those he hadn't met yet... Watching it play out would kill him; end his resistance with his shattered soul...

It was my duty as a Signer and as a friend to stop that from happening... but...

No, I couldn't. I couldn't kill the man who had saved me. I couldn't kill him when he only gave me my new place.

The truth was I loved him too much.

I fell to my knees, sending my power device scattering off into the distance.

I had failed him.

**Ruca POV**

To... to end his suffering?

Ancient Fairy Dragon tilted her wings so that she took the mantle Black Rose Dragon had left when Aki dropped to the ground beside me. But I would not be able to fill that gap either. I may have been the protector of the Spirit World, I may have gone on a great journey with my new friends, but I was still just a little kid.

I grabbed Rua's trembling hands with my own and rested my head on his shoulder, hiding the tears cascading down my soft cheeks. I was too young to understand how death would be better for him; I was too young to give that to him.

I was useless as a Signer then; I had only defeated Demark through Rua's strength, and now, at the final hurdle...

I would bow my head and let Yusei destroy himself with the world.

Rua's arms embraced me, lining my shirt with his own tears.

Even together, we weren't strong enough.

**Mikage POV**

Jack was going to die.

The thought terrified me as much as Yusei's hidden plea had.

If Jack could somehow rise above the situation he had just bound himself in he would have to defeat his best friend, his treasured bond, and send him hurtling to an early death. Although Aki had not told me earlier, I knew him well enough to see that his duel with the other girl had already broken something in him. If he was forced to fight against his friend, forced to destroy him when he was being overshadowed by some horrible monster, forced to watch the light vanish from his blue eyes...

It would kill Jack too.

I drew closer to Ushio, his coat still draped over my shoulders, and wept silently into his chest. His arms hesitated as always before drawing me closer, giving me something that they shouldn't have in this desperate hour: comfort.

I could feel his heart beating wildly against my ears, the promise we had made earlier propelling it forward. We would stick through this together; we would not need to be alone when it all ended.

The other's cries found my exposed ear and I trembled, knowing that this would really be the end. The Signers were falling before the fated duel could even start.

The bonds that had brought them together would spell the end of the world.

The end of Yusei. The end of Jack.

They would die alone, as we had speculated earlier.

I sobbed harder, wishing for the entire world that I was wrong.

**Ushio POV**

Over the top of Mikage's head, I continued to watch the mourning of the Signers, of Yusei's friends, feeling something strange beating in my chest. He had asked for their _help_, he had asked to be defeated, and they were all just collapsing in on themselves at the prospect? Didn't they see what this meant?

"Stop crying!" I shouted, pushing Mikage back for the first time and turning away from her, away from them all. The noises continued, softer, but there nonetheless. My own shoulders were shaking, but not for the same reason as there's.

Hope had found me again.

"Shut up, all of you!" I whipped around to face them, hands thrown to the sky. Wounded, their red puffy eyes found my face, stained with the tainted tears of the King. "Don't you see? Yusei's trying to reach you! He's making you all see!"

"We cannot kill him Ushio," Aki replied with a shake of her head, bangs colliding together like the violent waves crashing behind her. She bit her lip and jerked away, hiding her eyes behind them. "I love him too much to stand against him."

"You don't have to!" I shouted, frustrated. How was it that I was the only to get what was going on here? They were the ones that followed the flow of all this insanity, not me!

She looked up again, confusion dulling the light Yusei had given her. "What do you mean? You don't intend on standing up against him, do you? You're not a Signer, you'll perish."

Waving my arms around as if batting away her assumptions, I continued, "No! No one needs to fight against him because Yusei is still there!"

"What do you mean?" Mikage asked, looking lost and timid with my giant coat around her.

"Agh!" I grunted, searching for the words that had come so easily earlier, in the maze. "I mean, why would the King of the Underworld ask Jack to kill him? Think about it—he wouldn't even offer that if he could avoid it! Yusei's trying to break through; he's struggling for his freedom against the King!"

"Ushio?" Ruca asked, not grasping onto what I had revealed to them. I waved my arms around again, trying to find the right way of saying this. Words had never exactly been my strong suit...

"Alright, if the King wanted to break Jack, why would he say that killing him would end his suffering? Remember, he was taking about all the pain that this Creator-Destroyer person had to go through? Why would he tell Jack that killing him would save him? If he really wanted to play smart and twist around our bonds, he would have said something like the only way to save Yusei would be watch him win—or he wouldn't have said anything at all! That has to be Yusei trying to reach us! Those are his words!"

They were looking to me with the same bitter hope that they had in the room with Momentum, the room where we all feared Yusei's first death barely and hour ago. This time I would not look away! This time I would restore them, give them the hope that Yusei had shown me!

"He even started talking about fighting for us earlier, remember? Before he switched topics and talked about the Creator and Destroyer? He just sort of stopped talking about it without any prompt, like he said something he shouldn't have! That must have been Yusei too, trying to speak to us!"

"Ushio... are you sure...?" Mikage whispered, not wanting to break the small amount of kindling I had lit under our feat, but terrified that I would start the fire that would destroy us.

"Absolutely!" I turned to the twins, holding each other with their young trusting gazes on my scar. "You two remember when Yusei collapsed riding out to Aki's duel right? How he was screaming like he was dying? Well that was the same as when the talon got him! He managed to surface from that, didn't he?"

They looked at each other, silence full of doubt, afraid to take that leap. I rounded on the girl, Aki, next, remembering her own experience with Yusei. "And Aki, you held him in your arms tonight! You've felt his strength; you've felt his determination to overcome darkness!"

"His speech!" Rua shouted suddenly, face brightening with the childish gleam it had started out with.

"His what?" I repeated, taking a turn to be confused.

"What he was saying to Divine about his light and darkness," Ruca supplied, letting her brother go and putting her tiny fists together in excited prayer. "He said that because of us he can find his light even in the blackest darkness Death can throw at him!"

"So them..." Aki began, kneeling from where she had been sobbing on the ground. She raised a hand to clear her face of tears and stood, a soft light in her eyes. "He is like me. Divine was able to overtake me because of my fear for Yusei's death, and I was able to surpass him because of my bonds with Yusei. I found strength then, when he was looking me in the eyes."

A splash and suddenly damp pants alerted me to the giddy fact that Rua was bouncing in place again, soaking himself with the puddles around us. "Then we have to be here for Yusei! We all totally love him enough to end his suffering then!"

Seeing their fires alight in this oppressing darkness made my heart constrict in a strangely pleasant way, something it had never done before. This was different than anything my duties had ever brought me, this was different from the understanding Martha had given me, the feelings I had for Mikage...

_"What I've been trying to do all along, help and guide you."_

I had found my place after all, in these people's smiling bright faces. I wouldn't find this happiness just by being at Mikage's side, by catching some questionable criminal, by oppressing the people of Satellite. If I could just make people like this happy through my job all the time... that was my purpose, that would bring me happiness.

"We have to believe in Yusei," I finished, touching Mikage by the shoulder and bringing her towards the car where he would be able to hear us. The twins beat us there, leaping into the back seat they occupied earlier, grinning with the power that hope could bring them. Aki scooted in between them, her power device lost somewhere on the dirty ground behind us.

And as Mikage and I took the front and passenger seat, turning the volume on communications as high as it could go, Rua came through with something I hadn't expected to hear.

"You know Ushio; I guess adults aren't useless after all."

* * *

**Yusei POV**

I was drifting.

It was cold.

There was nothing.

So could I even ask where I was if I knew the answer?

I was nowhere.

I was no one.

There was nothing.

Soft clouds drifted below me, cushioning my head and body with their layered darkness, lulling me into a drowsy lax state. I heard voices whispering below me, urgent and incessant, preventing my eyes from closing and my mind from drifting off.

There was something vaguely familiar about them, something that kept giving me the urge to stare at my right arm for some reason. But whenever I looked, it gave me a feeling of something missing, something empty, a light that should be there but wasn't.

I didn't understand it, but it didn't bother me, not here. Here there were no fears, here there was nothing.

I remembered that there had been a place before this one... somewhere that had brought me unbelievable pain... but there wasn't any of that here. There was nothing.

And that... it bothered me. There should be _something_, shouldn't there? I had been _someone_ in that other place hadn't I? There was _somebody_ that I used to know, right?

But it was so hard to focus here with the clouds fogging my mind, making it so difficult to remember what it was that I was supposed to be _doing_ in the first place. But the more I focused, the more those _whispers_ grew, louder and louder, until I could pick out individual voices, familiar voices, voices that filled the void.

I cringed, for every time they caught my attention, pain spasms filled my chest, reminders from my forgotten world, "The mantle will be passed down from you, to me, to Jack, and to Yusei! We'll see this bridge through! Our legend will never die Goodwin!"

That's... Crow! His name struck a chord, unleashing the blinding light of the world once forgotten, the world of my friends!

My arm burned with remembrance and... and... _something. _

Something I couldn't explain: something to fill the nothing.

"Crow!" I shouted it with all the strength I could muster; flushed with the power that name gave me. Caught in the clouds, it echoed on into infinity, spurring a storm in the otherwise calm sky. His name painted lightning across the sky, beat thunder into my heart, drove away the black cloud cover with flashes of a flying D-Wheel...

Bright orange against black, I saw him streak across the horizon like a meteor, tearing open the prison I was trapped in. I reached out towards the eye of my storm, dawning realization propelling me forward, and as he began to fall with the diming of the sun dragon, I screamed his name, heavy hope pulling me down again.

I tumbled through the clouds, a victim to gravity alongside my unconscious friend, bracing for impact that never came...

I was drifting.

It was cold.

There was nothing.

* * *

**Jack POV**

_Kill _him? _Kill him?!_

How could he ask that of me?! I would not do that to a friend that could still be saved! I would not—

I stopped.

I already had done that tonight, to Carley, whom I loved. But Carley... she could not be saved, as she said, dead is dead. There's no coming back from it. But Yusei, Yusei could be saved!

"It is not a matter of loving you too little Yusei!" I shouted, drawing a flash of... of... _something_... across his storming eyes. What was this? More surprise about bonds that he couldn't understand? I'd make him understand, as promised, and save my sole rival's sorry ass in the process! "It is a matter of trust and bonds, like was said before! Nothing needs to be said because I have faith in you—hope that you've shown me! So hear me Yusei! Is this what you wanted us to see through this duel? A devil with your face?!"

"Yeah Yusei!" Startled, I looked down at the screen of my D-Wheel, surprised to see the faces of our friends squished together in a small chat box, grinning as if the world wasn't about to end. It was the little brat Rua who had spoken first, and his sister continued, "Listen to Jack Yusei! We know you're in there, we've heard your cries! We'll stand by you no matter what!"

They moved aside to allow Aki's large brown eyes onto the screen, sparkling with hope and brilliance that had not been there before. "I agree with the others. You said that your light is your darkness and that it has saved you before. Well, that same thing is why I'm here right now, rooting you on. Break free from the Gods Yusei, show us your path!"

Mikage was next, surprising me with her gall and determined eyes. She had always been so meek around me before, yet in the face of the King of the Underworld, she grows a backbone? "We'll reach for you Yusei! You can call for all of us! We'll lend you light!"

Now Ushio took his place, smirking seriously, voice remarkable clear through the Dueling System, "You've helped and guided us this far punk, now its time we returned to favor. You wouldn't let me take your place in the Spider Mark duel earlier, so don't you dare let this imposter take your place now!"

"Enough!" It was Goodwin, again, trying to break past the strength of our bonds that had silenced Yusei's dark amusement towards me and made something old appear in the silver stars within his eyes. "This foolish talk will end! I draw and end all of your pathetic talk about bonds! I will crush you Jack, in order to get to the King! Feel my power! Polar Star Obey!"

I turned my head away from the condor as it gathered strength, settling my gaze on Yusei's frozen with fear and anger. He was still there, he was coming back. Heat on the side of my face warned me of the approaching attack, reminded me of Crow's demise, and reminded me of the face down I had left for him.

"Our bonds will see us through. Finish this duel Yusei!"

The light engulfed me, blocking sight and sound, but not before I heard the voice I needed to hear, not before I saw pain return to his eyes, not before I saw the mask fall from his face.

Not before I heard my name from his lips.

_"Jack!"_

The chains fell to the ground with me.

* * *

**Did I explain the whole Creator Destroyer thing clearly enough? It was pretty complicated without having to throw in a duel to it...**

**Please tell me what you think before hitting that next button!**

**(About to run away, but thanks for reading/reviewing)**

**~AxJfan**


	12. Shi

**IMPORTANT: THIS IS PART TWO!! HIT THE BACK BUTTON BEFORE YOU START READING THIS. YOU MUST READ PART ONE FIRST.**

**IMPORTANT: THIS IS PART TWO!! HIT THE BACK BUTTON BEFORE YOU START READING THIS. YOU MUST READ PART ONE FIRST.**

**IMPORTANT: THIS IS PART TWO!! HIT THE BACK BUTTON BEFORE YOU START READING THIS. YOU MUST READ PART ONE FIRST.**

**IMPORTANT: THIS IS PART TWO!! HIT THE BACK BUTTON BEFORE YOU START READING THIS. YOU MUST READ PART ONE FIRST.**

**IMPORTANT: THIS IS PART TWO!! HIT THE BACK BUTTON BEFORE YOU START READING THIS. YOU MUST READ PART ONE FIRST.**

**IMPORTANT: THIS IS PART TWO!! HIT THE BACK BUTTON BEFORE YOU START READING THIS. YOU MUST READ PART ONE FIRST.**

**IMPORTANT: THIS IS PART TWO!! HIT THE BACK BUTTON BEFORE YOU START READING THIS. YOU MUST READ PART ONE FIRST.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh 5ds.**

* * *

**Shi**

**Yusei POV**

I was... floating.

It was... warm.

There was... something.

The whispers would not stop; they were surrounding me, crashing over me, destroying the nothing, and bringing disconnected images to my eyes. I held onto them, knowing that they were important to me, wondering what they were saying, why they were here.

**_It doesn't matter. Ignore them, they mean nothing._**

That voice... I didn't like that voice. It dampened the others, and they needed me... no, I needed them!

"It is not a matter of loving you too little Yusei! It is a matter of trust and bonds, like was said before! Nothing needs to be said because I have faith in you—hope that you've shown me! So hear me Yusei! Is this what you wanted us to see through this duel? A devil with your face?!"

... Jack.

"Yeah Yusei!"

Rua!

"Listen to Jack Yusei! We know you're in there, we've heard your cries! We'll stand by you no matter what!"

Ruca!

"I agree with the others. You said that your light is your darkness and that it has saved you before. Well, that same thing is why I'm here right now, rooting you on. Break free from the Gods Yusei, show us your path!"

Aki!

"We'll reach for you Yusei! You can call for all of us! We'll lend you light!"

Mikage!

"You've helped and guided us this far punk, now its time we returned to favor. You wouldn't let me take your place in the Spider Mark duel earlier, so don't you dare let this imposter take your place now!"

Ushio!

I knew them—these people were my important, cherished friends! These people... this was like before, before with Crow! Crow... Crow has fallen already! I would not let these... but... Yusei...? Who was that? Was that... me? My name?

**_No, you are not Yusei; you are the King of the Underworld. _**

The King of the Underworld? Was that... no... just thinking about it sent agony along my right arm and up into my soul... something was... wrong with all of this...

"Our bonds will see us through. Finish this duel Yusei!" Jack Atlas rode into my range of vision, startlingly white in this darkness, an angry angel come to avenge me. He held me in his powerful purple gaze, reached out for me with his eyes, they all reached out for me, and I grabbed their hands, held on tight...

Overcame nothing to find everything.

I am Yusei Fudo! I am not the King of the Underworld; I am a Signer, I am the center of those bonds that my friends cherished, I am the son of someone who created Momentum, I am the godchild of my current opponent, I am... I am not the Creator or Destroyer!

That is my will through this duel! That is how I will surpass destiny Jack!

I opened my mouth to say so, to regain my body, my place in this duel, but was too late. Jack vanished in a blast of great white light that blinded my eyes, made me shield them to the dazzling sun, stole my words and left me with only one thing left to say.

_"Jack!"_

The scream continued on and on as I clawed my way back towards reality, fought past the storm clouds to reach the eye. This place was vivid in my memory now, the cold empty wasteland were I had stumbled, the rushing River Styx, the presence of my father, the great talon that had infected my soul, they were all there below the clouds! This was the Underworld within the King, hell, somewhere I could not let myself be!

The closer I came to the light of the real world, the more my body ached and groaned; trials of my plight there. But I had to reach it, I would not let the light my friends gave me die!

I broke past the surface gasping for breath, for life, blind to the sudden world of light where my eyes had only seen darkness before. I closed them almost immediately, seeing black, and felt the cold grip of his talon seize my soul. Caught somewhere between reality and hell, I lashed out at him with everything I had, remembering the vow to myself, the vow to my father, and the vow to my friends.

Wind whipped at my face in the real world, buffeting my arms as my struggle pitched the D-Wheel back and forth along the track. I saw Jack fallen, unconscious or worse, and screamed for him again only for it to turn into an agonized holler as my heart was crushed by his pressure. Swallowing my pain with blood from my bitten tongue, I grit my teeth tight and steeled myself against his pull, holding fast to the hands of my friends.

"Let go!" It was a command, from both him and I, and we both refused to budge, despite the pain we brought each other. My friends were cheering and screaming, calling for both Jack and I, begging for both of us to rise where we had fallen.

I had to...! I had to...!

But I was just a mortal, where he had the strength of a god. Bonds and all, he dragged me back into the darkness, pinned me tightly in his grasp, crushed me with his willpower, raged at me for being able to escape, goaded me with everything he could...

But I refused to release those hands.

It was as my father said: the safest thing was for them was to fight. Now I could truly appreciate that statement.

**_Do no waste the power of those bonds on this Yusei! You've seen how they fight for you, for us! They fought for the world we can create! Do not let that go to waste!_**

_They never fought for your world! They fought for me, and thus I will fight for them!_

**_Then suffer in silence!_**

In the world beyond I felt my arms jerk out another card, continuing the duel without my will. No! I will not allow him to win the duel for his world; I would overcome it to save this one!

Fighting with every ounce of light I had did nothing to him other than annoy him, but I could not give up! I may not have the mark of the Crimson Dragon to keep him at bay any longer, but that meant nothing! I still had the bonds that it brought; I still had the power of my friends!

He still had control of my body though, as he demonstrated by declaring, "I activate the special effect of Junk Archer to remove Sun Dragon Inti! Dimension Shoot!"

The arrow cast the clouds and his talon firmly around me in a strange blue light, spurring a memory of what he had ordered that card to do last turn. I faltered with anger at myself, and his grip tightened, menacing and gloating about his actions against Jack.

But his split attention was not missed.

"While you struggle with yourself, you have become weak and naïve! I activate the counter trap Temper of Vei which negates your effect and destroys your monster!" Goodwin deflected, something wavering in his black eyes. What had the King said to him? What had he made me say? "Now you see that your bonds will only kill you King!"

"Goodwin!" I called, surprised when he heard my voice. The opportunity ended abruptly when the talon shook me, rattling my spirit into pained silence so that the King could continue to speak through me. "You will see that those bonds will win the duel for me. Now I place Shield Warrior in defense mode (Atk: 800, Def: 1600), add a face down and end my turn."

"Yusei! We heard you! We're here, keep fighting!" my friends shouted, dispelling the darkness like the bright light of a raging fire.

Goodwin laughed at their chants and at the King's play, an uncertain noise above all the hope and miracles happening around him. "You are so confident about the power of those bonds, yet all you can do is play a useless defense monster that can't protect you against my God's power? Yusei! King! I will have you both taste death and defeat!"

**Yusei: 4000 (12)**

**Goodwin: 7900 (8)**

"Ore no turn! Draw!" he cackled, ignoring the new card in favor of the Earthbound God above him. I took it in from my prison with watchful eyes, knowing somehow what it was going to do. "If you treasure those bonds with your friends so much then I'll send you down to hell with them! Make them meet despair Wiraquocha Rasca, Polar Star Obey!"

So this was the last thing Crow and Jack saw: the great shadow of the King of the Underworld calling upon its power and blasting them into oblivion with a burst of white fire. I embraced the pain the light brought when it collided with me, felt the feelings my friends had, and screamed alongside the King for the agony it brought with it.

**_This... this pain! It—I—_**

It only lasted a second compared to everything else, and when my dazzled eyes could see, the only thing that had changed on the field was my life points. There, I still rode towards Goodwin, smarting and in pain, shaking with the effort to break free. There, my friends still called out for me, worried, hopeful, and waiting for me to return. There, I could sense Crow moving around under his D-Wheel, floating back into painful consciousness while Jack forced himself to his knees on the track.

Here, everything had changed.

The King had not felt the same pains that I had tonight, being caught between the two gods. He was not prepared for the blow; for he had never felt pain through a mortal body before, just as he had never felt death. The sensation sent him into the same spasms as Jack and Crow, loosening his grip just enough for me to break free, to climb for the surface again, to emerge, and to move my aching body of my own free will.

**_No! You will not—Agh!_**

The shared pain of my friends and I kept him at bay, spurring fear across his occupied half of my soul. Air came easily into my abused throat, just as fire came easily from my right arm. I turned my head to the side through blurry eyes and caught sight of the Crimson Dragon watching me from where it had been pinned by the King.

I understood.

"So have you tasted it King?" Goodwin taunted, oblivious to the switch that had just happened. "Now you know pain, now you feel sorrow! Despair that your last moments will be full of it; despair for if you had kept your vow to me you would have lived on towards the future!"

"I won't despair Goodwin because there is still hope!" I shouted.

"There is no hope for you, King! I will destroy you!"

**_Despair? I'll show you despair Yusei! I'll put an end to your hope!_**

I could feel him around me, yanking me away, back to that place where he had held me silent. But it was a weaker pull than before, he had been wounded by his own servant, and I was empowered by the encouragement of my friends.

"You're right Goodwin! There's no hope for the King!" I replied, startling all the watching eyes and listening ears. I could feel it rise with my words, feel it expand across the city and protect me from the painful touch: hope. "My friends have saved me from him, and we will defeat him and you!"

"Yusei!"

There was so much emotion in just that single word, my name, so much joy, so much hope, so much love... so many emotions that made me feel shame for what I had done to them. But just as before, I would strive to make it up to them through this duel; I would fix what Rudger had wronged seventeen years ago and the damage the king had done with this single victory!

"We will press onwards, towards our future!"

"What?! You broke free?! But... how?! That is impossible, how can you find yourself—how can you surpass destiny while being just a mortal?! You are not even a Signer—I have taken that power!"

He was close to the breaking point; I could see the desperation in his eyes. He wanted proof that what he was doing was for the better, was the only way to achieve a great world. He needed to know that he did not make a mistake by dying. He needed me to be that devil. He needed me to give him false hope.

But I would never do that. "Goodwin, everything that's been said tonight is true! It is our choices that free us from destiny! You don't have to follow this path of evil; you don't have to turn your back on your brother! He hasn't abandoned you either, he told you to defeat him!"

"I don't need bonds like that! You say the same things whether you're the King or Yusei! You are the one who is a two-faced villain!" he shot back, wounding me more than I could let show. It was true, from what I could remember during my absence, my friends had not noticed the difference between the King and me. I felt the pain he felt, he spoke to me, I heard him, and we could challenge and defeat each other.

But I would not allow myself to be him. That was my choice backed by the bonds I've made.

"That's not true Goodwin, there are bonds that people can't lose, and yours is with you brother! That's why you've become a Dark Signer, so you could escape the pain he brought you! Look around you Goodwin! Can't you see that this world doesn't need to be changed? Can't you see that there's happiness here? Those things can only happen through our bonds, and your world will destroy them!"

"Have you forgotten already what _your_ world will be like Yusei?" he spat back, voice harsh with something the others would interpret as anger. I knew differently, it was how I would react to a situation like this; it was how I would hide my suffocating sorrows.

Eyes soft with the remaining life point, I drew my card, already feeling everything falling into place. "That is not my world Goodwin; that is the King's. Although it was the voice of my dear friends that woke me,"—I smiled at them sincerely through the screen, shaking heart calmed by their proud faces—"it was your attack against the King that allowed me to return."

"What do you mean?" he asked with narrowed eyes, shaken by my statement without showing it. Almost subconsciously he covered the mark of the Crimson Dragon with his arms, crossing them with apparent disdain.

"It's as Jack said, the King was born in the Underworld so he does not understand death, life, or pain. When you gave him a taste of the despair he caused, the agony he experienced through my mortal body overwhelmed him. Your attack weakened him enough for me to break free, and my friends pulled me out of the darkness."

"So the King of the Underworld fears death, and that is why he occupies your body so full of life?" Goodwin mused. "And that is why he fled, for he does not understand pain when he has existed without it in his immortality?"

Irony. I almost laughed, recalling Divine's assumption that the air was full of it tonight. It seemed that he was correct. His death sobered me, and I returned my full attention to the present, where Goodwin was trying to process what I just told him.

"So he will return for you," he finished, "when he recovers himself. Then I can destroy that monster that lied to me with you Yusei. I will kill a god while it is housed in a mortal body! I will take out those who oppose my new world!"

_He will return for you._

"He already has Goodwin," I replied, knowing that this truth was the only way to keep us both sane. "He is pulling at me now, and he's growing stronger. But when my time comes, I will make the right choice. I will act against him, and I will make sure the world remains for the sake of my friends. I will stop you if I can't help you."

**_Who says you will have the time to make that choice Yusei? I will take you soon, you can feel it._**

_Ahh,_ I hissed as his strength increased on time, pulling my soul apart again, furthering the spread of the dye he had blackened it with. Goodwin watched this with a white face, hesitant and unsure of how to react to the situation.

I would clear that with this turn. "I a-activate the speed spell Angel Baton!" I forced out, already losing blotches of my vision to the power of a god. But I had to withstand, I had to set it up for our bonds to shine through, to save Goodwin, to save the world... "I draw two cards and discard one from my hand!"

**Yusei: 1 (10)**

**Goodwin: 7900 (9)**

Road Runner and Debris Dragon looked up at me from their cards, giving me just what I needed to play out what my friends had left me. Sending Road Runner to the graveyard, I summoned Debris Dragon to the field in attack position, readying myself for what was about to happen. "I activate the effect of Debris Dragon! When it is successfully summoned, I can special summon a monster with at the most 500 attack points, so appear, Road Runner!"

"So then it's coming," Goodwin murmured. "But what use will your Signer Dragon be without your mark Yusei?"

Ignoring that comment, I declared, "I'll tune Debris Dragon into Road Runner and Shield Warrior! Clustering desires will now become bright stars! Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Show yourself, Stardust Dragon (Atk: 2500, Def: 2000)!"

My other half appeared in a burst of starlight and roared over the great bridge, nearly masking my screams. Just as before, the King reacted negatively to the presence of a Signer's power, thrashing and fighting against the force that burned him to touch. But now that I was without the shield of being a Signer, I felt it all too. Not just his fit as he ripped into my soul, digging in to prevent himself from being ejected, but all the immortal agony he felt in the presence of a Crimson Dragon servant was shared by me.

Where that may have only been a small burn to a being like him, to my mortal body it was unbearable, and it gave out of me, sending my D-Wheel into a dangerous spin cycle, caught in the storm around me.

"YUSEI!!"

There was no one here to grab me this time, just my own strength to go by, just the power they could lend me though spirit. I tipped dangerously to the side, seeing the faraway stars as if they were beside me, and caught sight of Jack's white Wheel of Fortune behind me, Crow's Blackbird, both fallen riders on their knees, panting and screaming for me.

No! I couldn't crash, I couldn't lose control... this duel depended on the fact that I...

Hollering harshly into the night, I hauled my half dead body back into action, feeling like I was back on the other bridge, dueling with a destroyed rib cage, battling for the last time to clear the path for my friends.

I shook, but regained control. I could barely breathe, but carried on. I couldn't hear past the King's angry scream in my ear, but rode towards the future.

My first gulp of fresh air was coughed back out, nearly drowning Goodwin's taunt about my plight.

"So this is the pain you spoke of earlier, the agony of being the Creator or Destroyer. So what can you do other than harm yourself by summoning that dragon Yusei? Its attack points are too low to damage the Sun Dragon Inti."

The words were sandpaper against my aching throat, "Stardust is the symbol of hope between my friends and I, and although its presence wounds me, it gives me strength! As will the power of my friends, the sacrifices they've made will not go unnoticed!"

"What are you talking about now?!"

"I'll activate the effect of Crow's continuous trap, Black Feather Anchor!"

"What?! But that duelist has long since been defeated!" Goodwin protested, looking past me to Crow's ending place.

"Although his life points are only one, even if he can't ride with me, he's still here Goodwin! It's the same with your big brother! Now watch to power of bonds in motion—by destroying this trap card I can increase the attack power of Stardust Dragon by 2500, the amount of Black Feather Armored Wing that was released before he fell!"

"What?!" he shouted, palms slamming onto the ancient table as he leaned forward, as if getting a closer look would take away what he saw. "5000 attack points?!"

"Feel the strength of this world's bonds! Stardust Dragon, carry us skyward! Shooting Sonic!"

Strangling another scream at the increase of Stardust's power, a gasp escaped my lips, revealing the pain I was still in to Goodwin. For some reason this was keeping him in denial, keeping him from seeing the truth. For some reason he thought that the pain I felt between the two gods justified his world, that my struggle to overcome the destiny that bound them wouldn't exist if I wasn't "some devil."

Then this wasn't enough—I needed to go further still. I needed to summon...

The Sun Dragon exploded into contact with the powerful blast of the stars, dropping Goodwin's life points by 2000 critical points, setting up the path for victory that my friends had made for me.

**_We will take that path to the finish, where we will gain immortality in a world immune to pain!_**

Recovering quickly, Goodwin turned to his steadfast strategy, calling for damage dealt for destroying the sun.

"Not this time! The stars will outshine the sun with the light of hope! I activate Stardust Dragon's effect to stop the damage step! Victim Sanctuary!" My dragon vanished the same way he had come, leaving my body weak while the King only grew stronger. I had to act quickly.

"The moon will rise again Yusei! Just as you cannot escape the cycle fate has trapped you in—!"

That was it! The way to reach him, by ending the cycle! "You've triggered Jack's trap card, Conquest of the High Ruler!"

"What?! Another trap from a phantom on the field?!"

Twisting back in gratitude, I could just make out the smile on Jack's face as his card was played from my hand. I wondered briefly if he would have acted any different if the King had gotten hold of it, but dismissed the thought quickly.

Not quickly enough.

**_He wouldn't even know the difference. We are the same Yusei. Just give in, it will save you pain._**

_It's too late for that. _

"With this trap I can negate any normal or special summon, so your Moon Dragon Quilla will not return to the field!"

"W-What?!"

"This marks the end of your cycle Goodwin! Now you've seen that the world can be changed through the power of bonds!" That marked the end of my turn and return of Stardust Dragon, along with protective pain from the King and my symbol of hope. Gritting my teeth like I had so many times tonight, I forced myself beyond the pain and gave myself one last goal to meet.

Reaching Goodwin.

"You've tried to change the world through bonds before as well Goodwin, and we are the result of that!"

"What?" This time he whispered it, and I could almost believe past the drumming in my ears that he hadn't spoken at all. But he had, and it gave me hope for him.

"You are the legendary duelist that flew to the city from the Satellite, and that legacy is what gave Jack, Crow, and I our first glimpse of hope for a better future. We all held onto that in our hearts because you showed us it could be done. You may have forgotten that person, but you have not forgotten the past Goodwin. You know the reasons you made that jump, you did it for your brother. Do you really want to be able to forget him when your bonds with him have gained you so much? Are you truly going to throw away your life to escape it?"

"I..."

"You took on your brother's will when you made that jump Goodwin. You gathered the Signers because of him, you challenged death to see him again, and even now you're trying to stop this cycle because it caused him pain seventeen years ago. I've taken that pain onto my shoulders now and I'll surpass destiny like you did with the power of my bonds! Goodwin! You can't keep yourself in the dark for much longer; we will light up the sky with our combined strength!"

"Then I will cut you down! Ore no turn! Draw!"

**Yusei: 1 (11)**

**Goodwin: 5900 (8)**

"Perish Yusei! Feel the power of my Earthbound God's direct attack, Death Singularity!" he demanded of me, the great beast he commanded winding up for its final attack.

"That will not happen! I activate the trap card Forceful Stop! By releasing this card I can end the battle phase this turn! Wiraquocha Rasca cannot touch my l-life points!"

The King yanked me further away, making it more difficult to compete with the faltering god before me.

"You are weak and naïve! I won't fall for a trick like that! I activate Meteor Prominence, which deals you 2000 points of damage if I discard two cards from my hand! Burn in hell Yusei!"

Forcing my hand to move, I activated my last counter trap for the game, knowing that the outcome depended on the success of this card. "Trap Card open, Joint Future! I send one card to my hand to negate a spell or trap card!"

He growled, "You are your cursed luck. But it doesn't matter, if Meteor Prominence is sent to the graveyard I can add it to my hand instead of drawing in my next turn!"

"Your card isn't going to the graveyard Goodwin!" I disagreed, spurring a vicious snarl in my direction. "Joint Future makes it so that the destroyed card is shuffled back into the owner's deck."

He paused at that, holding the card between his fingers as if struck across the face. Slowly, reluctantly, he returned the card to his deck and placed it on the table, knowing that victory had just eluded him.

"It seems that my plays have been stopped," he muttered, ending his turn. He said nothing else, but I heard it through his eyes. He saw the truth now, saw it and wished that it was false, but saw it still.

My turn had finally arrived, that last turn. Looking towards the Crimson Dragon I smiled, understanding that now was the time. Eyes closed, I breathed heavily into my speakers, preparing for what was about to pass. "Goodwin, my time has come. I've made my choice."

"Your choice?" confusion flashed across his face and was then replaced by awed understanding. "You will perish and become the Creator?"

My friends' breaths hitched, all of them about to burst out in protest, but I intercepted with a small smile and hard eyes. "No. I will do as I said before. I will rise above this cycle through my bonds! I will show you how destiny can be surpassed, even when it is deemed hopeless!"

"Hopeless?" he repeated.

"And where there is none, I will create it!" I shouted, the soft voice of life whispering in my ear. "I take on my role! I'll take that burden!"

With a roar from the Crimson Dragon, the full mark vanished from Goodwin's chest in a trail of bright crimson. He cried out in a strange mixture of surprise and frustration before unleashing his eyes on me, on the new mark that had come to me, that had given me a small taste of relief: the mark of the head.

Crow's surprised exclamation told me that he had received my old mark. I smiled at the strength of our bonds, glad that he had finally achieved his true mark now that Goodwin had finally released mine.

"But how is that possible?! I was chosen to surpass destiny, I controlled that power!" he bellowed, more upset than angry. I shook my head as some form of answer, once again reduced to forcing out words past my clenched teeth.

"The Crimson Dragon has chosen our bonds!"

"And I entrust mine to Yusei!" Jack shouted from where he kneeled, voice loud and powerful as ever.

"Me too!" Crow added.

"And I!" Aki agreed.

"Win Yusei!" Ruca called.

With searing accurate agony, the full mark of the Crimson Dragon appeared on my back, livid enough for me to follow its course across my skin. If I had thought that pain before was too much, I was wrong. This was the true burden of the Creator, of the Destroyer. This was a feeling of hatred and suffering so great that it numbed my body to any other sensation.

And it was only just beginning. The top card on my deck shone with the arrival of our clustering bonds, and I drew it with shaking hands. Without hearing myself, I activated the effect of Stardust Xiaolong in my graveyard, special summoning it forward. Savior Dragon came next, stunning Goodwin with its appearance. Something was said between us, but it was lost in my struggle between the two gods fighting within me.

**_Do not summon that beast Yusei! You will destroy us all!_**

_You cannot move my heart any longer. My friends have filled it past its capacity._

"Clustering minds will now become a new miracle. Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Descend, Savior Star Dragon (Atk: 3800, Def: 3000)!"

As the dragon took me within our shared soul, I felt my heart begin to slow with my mind. The shockingly numb pain had reached them as well, leaving me with just enough time to play the last card.

"Trap card open, Synchro Baton... this increases the power... of one Synchro monster on my field... by 600... for each Synchro monster in my, Jack's, and Crow's... graveyards... giving Savior Star Dragon... 6200 attack points... activate... the effect... I can negate... Wiraquocha Rasca's effect... and attack it..."

I heard my voice from very far away, holding tightly onto consciousness. This attack had to go through before darkness overtook me. I had to finish this before I could meet up with my friends in the end...!

"S-Shooting Blaster Sonic!"

Together we struck the shadow of the King with the force of our friends backing us. The Earthbound God screamed once before dying, taking whatever life Goodwin had left with it. The King wavered within me, but the battle was far from over.

Savior Star Dragon changed course, flying through Goodwin's hologram as the man faded to ash, a smile on his lips, and charged towards the enemy that was tearing at me from within. But I was fading fast... there was so little time despite my will to fight...

In the end, I was just a mortal caught between two gods. It was no surprise that they consumed me.

The second Savior Star Dragon joined its crimson leader; a rushing sound overtook me, snapping my soul in two between the battling forces. In that moment I saw everything as they, the ant like people around us, the bright red burning of the Signers, the black shadows of watching demons, the sky as it was without spot lights, and the world below without the city. I heard the melody of life as it coursed through me, and the final gong of death. I saw myself slow midflight, saw the dragon around me fade, felt the mark on my back die out, and felt myself plummet through the clouds.

This was it; I had finally burned myself to the end of the wicker.

My vision went first, followed quickly by sound as my friend's screams vanished. Taste left with the copper blood in my mouth, smell went astray with missing salty air. Touch stayed long enough for me to feel the wind plastered to my face, to feel the mark vanish from my back and reappear on my arm, to feel Savior Star Dragon vanish into stardust around me, marking my descent into death.

But it still went, leaving me in total blind darkness, unaware if I flew alive or plummeted dead. I was no where, there was nothing, I had no one.

But I've learned by now. I was never alone. I could call for them, and they would answer.

So I did.

Though I knew reestablishing those marks would end me with pain, I knew it had to be done. This was my final testimony, this was my ascension past destiny. Four bouts of pain, of love, were all I needed to achieve that...

_Please, come..._

"Don't give up Yusei!" The sweet scents of nature filled my nose as the first red light shone upon me, accompanied by the roar of a lion and the whispering of playful spirits. With it, sight returned to me, revealing the rapidly approaching ocean foaming below. Ruca's front claw mark.

Ichi.

Only... three more...

"Wake up damn it! My rival shouldn't be so weak!" Cheers and screams revived my ears along with the beating of great wings and the whispering of fire. Hot pride and determination seared through our bonds, jolting my sluggish heart painfully with its presence. Jack's wings.

Ni.

_Ahh_, the pain was back, forcing shadows to cross my eyes again, blocking the world. But I was so close to victory, so close to stopping them... I couldn't... give in...

"I'm here for you as you were for me." Warmth and adoration swept over me, mingling with stale fears and sweet relief, uncertain feelings and tentative trust, and a strong desire to protect her home. Aki's back claws.

San.

The clouds were swallowing me, beckoning me with long dead voices, determined to watch me fall into the abyss and fail, determined to destroy me before I could destroy them.

No... just one more... one...

"I'm right behind ya, just wake up Yusei!" Outright worry overcame me, mixed with the cleverness of a quick tongue and trusting selfless bonds. With the sound of wings, Crow's tail mark finally arrived, completing what I had lost.

The full mark burned on my back, accompanied by the roar of my revived dragon.

I smiled.

I had... we had...

_... Their last breath will be to win the war for those they love..._

Through the veil I saw the great glow of crimson turn me towards the stars and watched the world fade to black.

Somewhere beyond space I saw them with smiles and cleansed souls, with gratitude and love that would never die. Swirled glasses glowed softly in the starlight along with a jewel on the center of a forehead, arms wrapped around a small boy with her face, and another held a village in his arms. My face welcomed me softly, my eyes wept as female hands swiped them away, and a familiar grin sparkled at me sadly, "There's no satisfaction in an ending like this."

I thought of my friends, waiting for me to return below, eyes dazzled by my light like I was to theirs with the waves crashing at their feet, their cheers filling the air, their hearts bursting with joy at my final victory.

I thought of Martha and Rally who would be returned now, scampering through the ruins towards the sea, smiles on their faces as they led the others behind them, eager to see me again.

I thought of all the hope and joy they had created on me, on my miracle, and felt a solitary tear run down my cheek, tracing the criminal marker Crow, Kiryu and I shared, that Jack had given me, that had scared Ruca and excited Rua, stumbling over the small scar Aki had dealt me, and watched it fall into oblivion, making ripples in the ocean below.

"Yusei, it's time."

They held out their hands.

I took them.

_We'll meet up at the end._

_**Shi.**_

* * *

**Alright, explanation...**

**Ichi means 1**

**Ni means 2**

**San means 3**

**Shi means 4 or death (dead)**

**So... I took advantage of the Japanese numerical system for a little bit more irony, which I happen to love. **

**Umm... yeah... I guess now would be a good time to take off running, right? ****One more chapter to get through, the Epilogue!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**~AxJfan**


	13. Epilogue: Bonds

Sorry **it took so long to come out with this. It was a combination of "I don't want this story to end" itis and "Wow I never realized that I could possibly have that many things to do for College."**

Yay me.

So here it is! The final chapter (which turned out longer than I though it would...) of **Mistakes!**

**Disclaimer: I obviously do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5ds. That would be bad.**

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Epilogue: Bonds

**Yusei POV**

In that one final moment of life, I learned more about death and myself than I ever had while breathing. I know now why the dead leave no warmth behind from whence they came; I know where the light in ones eyes fled to; I know the stillness that enveloped bodies left behind; I know why peace appeared one their faces; I know the grief of forgetting love; I know the aches of regret; I know why it was the blessed whom the rain fell on. I knew all this and more; for that one second; for that one breathe; for that one tear; for that one beat—then...

I knew nothing.

* * *

**Third Person POV**

"That dragon?! But that's—that dragon only appears to those with noble intentions—of pure heart! This duel—you were—but I... so you were..." Goodwin's final realization came to close, dampened eyes wide with the gravity of his ultimate mistake. The denial disappeared with the light of Yusei's last testimony to the gods, to his friends, and to his enemies, cushioning the impact of the truth. Then softer, a message to the stars, "I see now... Please... big brother... forgive me..."

He opened his arms to the attack.

_"Clustering minds will now become a new miracle. Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Descend, Savior Star Dragon!" _

The great beast did that and more; it burst into reality through the raging purple clouds above, punching a hole into space, where the stars smiled down on them in victory. The sight, completely foreign to the viewers, dazzled their eyes with its beauty and grace, its promise for a brighter future written across the deep blue sky.

Moving with all the supernatural strength of the stars, Savior Star Dragon took Yusei within it, joining their souls for a second time tonight with light so intense it outshone Momentum, the disaster that had born its legacy. Angling sharp wings, it sliced through the thick air between the Satellite and Neo Domino with the strength Yusei's heart possessed; its target gruesome and weak in comparison.

Even now, at the edge of death, they heard their savior cry out for their bonds again with a card, raising allies from their graves, powering the heaven-bound dragon with their enflamed souls. With baited breaths, the city gazed in wonder as the slender beast grew brighter still, empowered by the hope of its bonds and flushed with the taste of victory...

Yusei! Yusei! Yusei!

Impact: with a screech that echoed its King, the final Earthbound God succumbed to the power of life and love, exploding into thousands of shooting stars that lit up the streets they touched, the ocean waves below, and the faces of those remaining behind. Merciful laughter was heard echoing between the crowded cities, joyful exclamations of wet emotions as families were reunited, friends embraced, and children screamed in awe of their Savior in the winds.

All they had hoped for, believed in, fought for: he had made reality! He had overcome Death's shadow and claw—he had surpassed destiny as promised!

"He did it! He did it!" Rua cheered, pulling his sister into a crushing hug and whirling her around. For once she laughed along with him, holding him as tightly as her young arms could. Turning their heads to look on the other three in the group, the twins grinned and took their hands, squishing them all together in one group of mirth and love; all spawned because of one man with the power to hope.

And it was in this moment of peace and love, where victory had been a certainty, his strength faltered.

_Ruca!_ Ancient Fairy Dragon sensed it first, followed by the sharp keening of Black Rose Witch. The dragon duelists broke apart with searing pain from their arms, from Yusei, and turned their eyes skyward, to where Savior Star Dragon was slowing.

Yusei! Yusei! Yusei!

With the same light it had appeared in, the great dragon shattered, surrounding their hero as he plummeted out of sight and sound, into a world without light.

Yusei! Yusei! Yusei!

Their marks back burned onto their arms, warning and dread instilled to their cores. But they had come this far—surrendering was not an option! Neither pain nor grief would force them to their knees, they would support Yusei through their bonds if it was the last thing they did!

If it was the last thing he did... amazingly, irresistibly, and miraculously...Yusei called for them.

_Please, come..._

Though his voice was scant a whisper, though his body had long since frozen with the shock of agony, he was still there, still fighting against death! They would not allow their star to fall tonight!

Each by his or her own means, the cry was answered with all the feeling they could lend him, with all the love their thundering hearts could manage. Gratitude embedded in their souls, they watched their marks fade from their arms as he accepted each of them, as he clasped their hands once again tonight and soared free from death and calamity.

Savior Star Dragon evolved from the light of his soul, ascending where it had fallen, attacking the King alongside the Crimson Dragon. Without prompt, the other two dragons fell back, knowing that this was a fight between destiny and mortality, a fight best left to its victims. Taking the fallen duelists on their backs, they flew levelly towards the Satellite, carrying the hope that it would soon no longer be just that.

Their hopes were answered.

Bonded firmly by crimson faith, the God of the Dragon Star and the Star itself joined together, flooding the night with the screams of the overwhelmed king as they burst past all the power he could pour at them, drove through his being, and chased the shadows of his soul into oblivion. He struggled and choked, reached for Yusei within the dragons to no avail, and made one last empty vow to the light that outshone him.

**_For this betrayal, I revoke what's been given! _**

With that, the God of Death died, vanishing from the earthly plain in a great rush of purple flames. And their hope flew above still, gliding calmly as it drudged up the early signs of dawn.

"Yusei! Yusei! Yusei!" they called for him, waved their arms, worried not about the threats of a lying King or the hollowed joy they felt fading through their marks. No, they rushed to the base of the shaky beginning of the true Daedalus Bridge now that the light had faded, they shouted his name, they cheered as the great Crimson Dragon landed before them, vanishing to reveal their silver star, then Yusei himself, who stood caught in the stardust as if entranced.

Eyes gleaming soft red with reminisces of the God of life's power, he saw them all without seeing, took a step forward, stumbled, and fell into their outstretched arms, facing the revealed heavens. The mark flaring on his back returned to its individual Signers, lighting up their area with a gentle red glow, soothing the situation as it unfolded before them.

"Yusei?" Aki was the first to question his silent collapse with the touch of her smooth skin on his wet cheek. "Yusei are you...?"

He couldn't dream of replying, even as he was lowered to the ground, even as his friends took instinctual places around him, Mikage on his lips, Ushio his chest, Aki his mind, Ruca his deck, Rua his sister, Jack his right hand, Crow his left. This stopped with astonished cries from the Security Officers as his hands retreated shaking and her lips pulled back stained.

Anguished tears shaking the earth around them, they discovered the injury that ailed him, the wound that had started all of his pain and finally put an end to it. Standing to his full height, Jack called to the small crowd around them, demanding for the presence of a doctor, his anger fueled by the cruelty of this world to its savior. He stormed and raged at the gathered helpless, instilling a search within the masses, a search to continue the miracles under the fading stars.

Fat tears rolled down the soft cheeks of the children again as they lifted his shirt to reveal his bruised and blackened chest, as the keens of Stardust Dragon began to fade with its other half. Heads together, they clutched his deck tightly between shared fingers, urging both to be strong, to survive. Hands heavy with familiarity, Crow took them by the shoulders and pulled them close to his injured body, holding them like he had Pearson's kids, whispering promises he wasn't sure he could keep. Sparing a glance at his new mark, he willed his lids to close to the approaching sun, determined not to see the light of day without him.

He was not wading alone in the darkness; Aki had long since surrendered to the world behind her eyes, searching for a flicker of Yusei within his soul, fingers cupped firmly over his beating temples. Warmth met her clumsy touch, unafraid of her presence as she combed his heart for him, finding that he himself was cutting his thread to life. Her tears fell to his eyes, masquerading the sorrow she felt deep within him, filling Mikage's mouth with the startling chill of water as she shared Ushio's borrowed air with him, side warm with the touch of said officer as he alternated between moving a still heart and calling for a helicopter, the plea answered by renewed parents looking to save their savior.

Though they were bound by cause and purpose, each was left to their own thoughts, their own guilty sins that Yusei carried on his shoulders, which weighed him down to where he rested now. Reasons remaining in the shadows, the King had been able to taint their friend, to twist him, to kill him, and where Yusei had been saved by their light...

It was their darkness that had condemned him.

This was the consequence of their mistakes, taken on by their Savior, who they could not forsake now, not when victory was so close to their outstretched arms...

Like the guilt he had bared, Atlas' punishment from the gods, they would take burdens of their own to their shoulders, they would share the weight, they would strive to make it up to him, to tell him they were sorry, to alleviate all the suffering in his broken soul...

But they toiled on uselessly, for the gift the King of Death had revoked... was that of life.

* * *

**Yusei POV**

**Open your eyes Signer.**

_Dear God no_, was my first thought at the sound of such a powerful voice. The next was full of bitterness—who else would it be?—the following realized that it was not the voice I had become accustomed to. This was the command of the God of Life who wished to kill me to spare the world, not the God of Death who wished for me to live to damn it.

With irony a heavy weight on my mind, and I couldn't help but wonder if this was Divine's last malicious attempt on me, his will powerful enough to extend beyond the weak boundaries between life and death. It seemed so, for despite all my talk about disregarding what the gods wanted in favor of my path, I obeyed the dragon that had Chosen me three times over, fluttering my eyes open in the eternal night of the underworld.

Waters as dark as my eyes rushed along my face; it was a bitterly stale taste against my lips. Slick with precipitation, my gloves bled anew on the rock I was draped over, revived by the moisture of its source. Scraping my bruised cheek off the purple granite, I raised my heavy head and observed the stretch of river to my right, noting the depth by the pinpricks of reflected red light on its surface.

As before, my mark continued to light the way in the blackest darkness Death could throw at me.

My eyes traced the path of shallow water towards the familiar shores of the dead, where they paused at a new sight: The Door—open just enough to allow one long talon to reach out, waiting at the beach, pushing against an invisible force to reach me. Where it had spurred fright, defiance, love, and hate earlier, I now saw only pity for the creature, pity and a need for justice. I would end this now—I would defeat him and restore the world to its proper boundaries.

**The boundaries have never been weakened Yusei. Even in your case, the clouds and craters you have wandered were of Limbo, the Great In-betweens for the Lost. Death may have touched you, but you have yet to be seized. The dead remain dead, no matter how they walk upon Earth afterwards. It is simply the space they can travel that is extended. Life, even a half one, cannot be granted by the King's touch.**

**_Life is not necessary, seeing as it was that which damned them._**

Turning my head at their beck and call, I came face to face with the other legendary beast as it watched me from the opposing side, scrutinizing me with its immortal intelligence as if judging my fate. My gaze flickered beyond its silent curiosity and found a soft red glow in the distance, shading seven shapes as they darted about a lifeless heap on the rocky ground.

_Was it possible that...?_

I found lifting my body was a chore as the warnings of the River finally reached my drowned ears, clinging to my clothed form like a scared child. Presence noticed the weight was suddenly crushing me against the half submerged stone on which I lay, eager to drag me to its murky depths. Sparing my apparel only a fleeting thought, I shrugged out of the worn blue jacket, gloves, and suctioning boots; freeing myself enough to kneel before the crimson god; enough to see past it.

Enough to see that those seven precious bonds understood so deeply that it travelled through, their defiant and heartbroken hope luminous enough to pierce the veils between us... enough to make even me understand.

Although there had never been a doubt, watching them now, clearly, was something painfully gratifying, something like seeing my father in Old Momentum, talking to him for the first time while simultaneously knowing it would be the last... an unforgettable moment that must fade away like Kiryu's ash between my closed fingers.

They needed me, I needed them, and they were calling for me so desperately...

There was doubt again, if anything that was my weakness. How can I willingly tear apart the people I love? How can shattering them where they were cracked be the solution? Leaving them will perhaps save the world, but we had already defeated the King once, was it not plausible that together we could destroy him once and for all—wasn't there another way, a way that we wouldn't lose each other?

**At one point, everyone will be lost Yusei. That is the way of death, the way of the King.**

The way of death... but the way of life...?

Fascinated in a way perhaps only I could understand I watched my friends in favor of the Gods, chest tight with more than injury. Each had their own certain place about me and each other, each worked jointly like the family we desperately needed, and yet each was an individual performing their own tasks, but they came together to...

... What? Save me? They had already done so tonight... dying was my last decision... wasn't it?

_That Choice has not been made yet._

I stood.

**Yusei, should you return to life, I will fight with all my power for you. Your strength will see me through.**

Return to life...? But that was impossible, life can't be granted to the dead, and I...

Ushio's hands moved my chest slowly and rhythmically. Mikage breathed air into my lungs. Aki kindled the fire in my soul. Ruca and Rua empowered Stardust Dragon. Jack fought an impossible battle for hope, and Crow held them together with strong, faithful words.

... Through my bonds I was still alive. Then if I took the path the Crimson Dragon offered...?

I jerked about to the low laughter of The King, his pupils flashing eerily behind the opened door as he reached out further, clearing the shore with his claws. Frowning, I understood the gesture. If I took that offer, then there was still a chance that he could seize that opportunity, that he could take hold of me permanently... that I could end the world...

_Yusei!_

But what of my vow to Goodwin: that I would surpass destiny? I had told him becoming the Creator was not my Choice, and taking this road seemed to bode that stench. Returning to my friends just so that they could watch me die in their arms was simply not an option. After experiencing that feeling myself... after holding Bommer's hands as he begged for forgiveness in his pleas for defeat... after speaking the last words to my closest comrade as he faded to dust... after shedding more tears for lost life than I had for death... I understood that would break them beyond repair.

My life was only to help and guide them—my death would not be to destroy them, it would be liberation.

Scattering with the powerful currents around me, memories and thoughts collided, exploding into bright details across my star filled eyes. There had to be an answer, something I had overlooked, or something that was too close for me to see...

The Door.

**_Escaping from one god to fall victim to another—to relinquish your control over destiny? The only way to live is to return through me—to become the King, not only of the Underworld, but the Earth as well! It is the only way to save your friends from pain, to save the world so much suffering..._**

_The pain argued otherwise, and I knew, in the darkest part of my mind, that I would die no matter what the end result of this duel was. _

**A world without suffering is a world without life. Good and evil must always coexist, life depends on their balance.**

**_This is just another world without change—change, the force that spurs destiny! Change: the force that can end this cycle that will snatch up five new Signers 5,000 years from now, that will end the lives of five new Dark Signers._**

**The cycle between life and death is irreversible, just as this cycle is. We will continue to exist, no matter which of us is Chosen. Death cannot be destroyed and life cannot be revived. 5,000 years from now, the Signers will rise again, and this decision will be repeated. **

_"The struggle in a world that remains the same."_****

**_It does not have to be that way. You claimed to Goodwin that you would surpass destiny; this is the only way! A mortal with the immortality of a God—we could shape the world Yusei!_**

**Mortality and Immortality cannot coexist. You must make the Choice yourself, do not be tempted by this devil's words. **

**_Temptation can only exist when the urge to do so does. You want to end this cycle Yusei, you want to prevent the suffering of the future Creator, you want your friends to live on happily, and they can't without you, the center of their bonds. If they would go as far as to offer their own lives in exchange for yours, what will they do if you abandon them?_**

_"There is no satisfaction in an ending like this."_

**By spurring the King you will not be abandoning them Yusei. To attempt to live without his taint and die within my power you will be showing them your will to fight for them. **

_My last duty in the Other World, when Death came calling for me, would be to seal his presence with me._****

**_People become lonely so easily. Death is the ultimate form of abandonment, and to return to life without my power, you will die, you will commit suicide, the path of the Dark Signers. _**

**Suicide?! Suicide?! **The Crimson Dragon roared. **That will be Sacrifice! The ultimate gift of love—not the greatest act of selfishness!**

_"Only a coward would choose to end their life instead of facing their mistakes."_

A strange smile found my lips: only a coward indeed.

_"I don't have the power to save anyone."_

I was wrong.

Dancing along the waves, their cries drowned with my doubts, sparking something deeply distraught in my barely beating heart. Trailing more than shadows, I turned my back on life and gazed up at the door to death, marveling in its bold simplicity. It was like any other door, yet it was stories high, decorated with simple twisting marks from the Nazca lines, and shaded a deep purple that stood out from its surrounding blackness. A glance at my own shining mark was enough to prod me forward, in the direction away from the god's bickering, away from a destiny that would bring this world above.

The path towards my future.

As my foot sank deep within the underbelly of the River Styx, a gentle calm overcame me, soothing my aches with the promise of everlasting sleep. I couldn't help but think of the stories Martha had told me as a child of this place, curled up on her lap with Jack, sharing a worn blanket as she poured over texts to complicated for us to fully understand: how it was the barrier between the Underworld and Earth, how it was the place of lost dreams, how taking a dip in it had granted Achilles' his invulnerability and his heel... This was the second time I encountered this tonight, and only the first legend seemed to be...

The voices of my friends reached me once again, spurring my spirit and wounding my heart.

Ahh... so that was it.

Strangely, sorrow did not touch me here. With a twisted smile, I thought, _there is nothing, _that memory already half forgotten. Contently serene, the other foot followed its predecessor, marking my descent into crystal clear waters where only one thing was certain—Death.

As if summoned by the word he feared, the King drew away from his bickering with the Crimson Dragon, astonishment bringing a small light in his dull eyes behind the Door.

Opposite to him the great dragon was silent, watching my retreating back with a nonplused resentment that slowly morphed to awe.

**To forsake the chance of life that destiny has given you... to walk on your own path towards Hell... to save your bonds...**

"I will show you both," I replied, turning my head to face the spurred deities, cold and wet in body but blazing in spirit, "that this cycle will see its end after all."

Crushed by both immortal reaches as I was, a mixture of their wildly human emotions collided firmly within me, balancing me in a way they had destroyed Rudger. The tide of foaming hatred met its match with an undercut of surging admiration, merging in a way that must have been similar to the eternal battle of Momentum. While they raged and feared and loved my vow, I moved myself forward, shoulders proudly back the way Martha had raised me.

**_For this betrayal, I revoke what's been given!_**

An echo of an empty threat. _And I release it—it was never mine._

It was as before, the cycle had been reset, and I stood on my own two feet in the underworld with Rudger's damage inflicted on my body, staring down the talon before it overtook part of me that only Death could return.

This was the path my mistakes had prepared me for.

Docile to the touch with an iron hard heart and a punctured lung, I marched forward through the icy waters, destination firmly set in my soul. With the strength of my friends I mounted the rocky banks and squared myself as the talon came at me, hard and furious.

For once tonight, my red dome held strong and unyielding.

_"You have to return back to your friends, they need you. They're waiting for your return. Go back to them Yusei, continue to be their light..."_

My father's words swept over me now, laced with his revealed malice. I brushed aside the jab with another step forward, throwing my hands out in front of me to ward off his pressure.

_"It was because I killed your parents that Martha took you in and you met Jack. And because of those bonds you made with him and Kiryu, you were able to unite both the Dark Signers and Singers."_

He was pushing harder now, physically and mentally, doing everything left in his power to cling onto my dimming life. Jaw set, I marched on steadily, the only sign of discomfort showing through my leaking lips.

**_You have always been the center Yusei. You are the one who controls the fate of the world! Do not make this mistake—forfeiting your life will destroy your world!_**

The Crimson Dragon's glow vanished from sight as the beast departed, leaving me to my final battle against my darkness. Now the only light came from the mark that bound me to my friends, as it should be.

It was just he and I.

**_Like Momentum, if you, the center piece, disappeared the entire machine will be useless! It will be the same with your friends! _**

The dark rocks of the underworld were soft under the soles of my feet. I thought fleetingly of drifting, but knew that with this purpose I held I would never do such a thing again.

**_Doing this will be finishing what you and your father started seventeen years ago!_**

"I have come to terms with myself," I said, digging in my heels as I grew nearer to the door, the stench of Death soiling my nostrils. "My friends have saved me from that darkness. I'll show you that will."

**_Darkness never vanishes! The larger your light, the blacker shadow it casts!_**

"Balance is the key to life," I replied with a grunt, shoving against my glowing dome now, feeling the heat rush up my arms with renewing vigor. The door drew steadily closer, just ten more steps...

**_I will not allow this! You are still mine!_**

This time I felt it—the difference that meant everything. Being so close to his true being and domain (or perhaps simply being closer to death than I ever had before) must have thickened his power, for I could physically see the shadow of his talon reach through the shield and plunge deep within my chest. My body recognized the touch easily and fought against him as he searched for the part of my soul he had tainted—no, that was not it.

It was not dyed black... he had marked it for himself, just as the Crimson Dragon had. And because of that mark, he was able to return, able to act through me as if I were a Dark Signer, he was able to _twist_ my will and squeeze what was supposed to be untouchable because he had...

No, that was not it. He had not made me believe in that darkness—that fault was my own. So he had never touched my soul—that was my own being in sickening pain... he had just instigated it. And now that I have been cured by my loved ones, without even the debt of his healing within me, he is powerless. He may as well be...

Dead.

**_No! No!_**

"The one moving my heart isn't you," I smiled, stopping before his extravagantly rippling face with my palms pressed firmly against my shield, revealing my lifeline to him.

**_Your heart won't be moving much longer, Creator. Your chosen path has been preordained. Once you cross this threshold, I will have you!_**

"I refuse that."

**_What? I... I... _**For the first time I tasted the scent of his confusion and found it was polluted with age old fear. **... _I don't understand._**

Feeling impossibly like I was echoing another tonight, I replied, "The only way to make certain people understand is to make them experience it themselves. You desire a life when you have never had one, and that is why you believe that the Underworld would save the Above World. But now you have tasted life through me, and by those same means, you will find everlasting peace in death. That is the cycle in a world that is constantly changing, King."

**_Creator! Not even you have the audacity to fulfill this curse while you stand on MY threshold!_**

"You said it yourself. You strive to make your opponents see as much as I do. In the end, they always realize their errors through our persistence. They always make the right choice," I stared down his monumental size, empowered by the truth of our shared words.

His thick ozone filled the entire threshold to death, blocking any path that he thought I was going to take into his Kingdom. As silence raged between us more effectively than war, his talon shook and withdrew, clawing its way onto the Door, pushing it open. Its counterpart appeared soon after, but the portal would not open any further.

"What will yours be?"

**_You and I are not the same—not yet! I will make you see the wonderful world where we are! Then you Creator; what will your path be? I will not let you enter this place! I will not die!_**

So close to him, I sensed all the betraying fear that one sentence held and grabbed it, turning away from him and touching the Door with my Signer arm. The contact burned like hell's fire, so hot that is froze any sense of touch.

**_Creator, what are you...?_**

"I am not the Creator, King. Nor am I the Destroyer. I am Yusei Fudo, and just like my father wished, I have become the center for many wonderful bonds and people. This is not the Choice that has been predestined, this is the power of my own will to surpass destiny!"

I pushed against the door.

For the first—minute? Time was irrelevant to those without it—he was far too stupefied to fight back. As my mortal muscles strained against the impossible weight, groaning and crying with the Door, he watched without comprehension, neither hindering nor helping, his great talons the perfect illusion of death

**_You...? _**Lightening across his sky, I witnessed another flash of understanding, spotting my own blue spirit in those clouds. **_This is where your strength ends!_**

Artificial life flared back into his claws, sparking a strange phrase across my mind, 'Dead man's grip.'

**_I am immortal—close to my Kingdom! My strength far outweighs yours! You will collapse from exhaustion and return to your world, where I will take you!_**

Rubble gathered at my heels as I hauled against the barrier through the fatigue steadily clouding my eyes. What would have taken me a millisecond to realize at anywhere else took eternity here: I was losing this fight.

A heavy grunt escaped my lips as I shoved harder, thinking of Jack's endless strength and how he would be rapidly shouting down the Door as he pushed. Crow would most likely have a few colorful words to brighten this place, and Aki would be silent and supportive by my side, hauling with all her small body to aid us. Ruca would be next to her brother of course, beside Aki, pushing even though she was frail and sickly.

The fact that I was worse off did not even cross my mind. This was my Choice, and in it there was not the option of failure. I could withstand any blow to save the lives of my friends, I had to withstand. For them... this was all for them... for my bonds... and maybe...

... For myself.

Darkness closed my eyes without my consent, but now I could do more than see them beside me; I could feel them. They were here, calling my name, all around me, hazy, blurred, somewhere close yet far... but here all the same...

_"Yu...ei? He's...ing...p!"_

I slid to my knees, searching for a support handle up against the slick Door.

_ "Ha...ough...id...k?"_

Blind, my hands found nothing but unyielding resistance.

_"D... King... ie... sei!!"_

The King was laughing at my weakness, laughing as my friends tried to lift me...

"Yu...!!Yu...!!"

I drew the air to scream, choked...

"Heli...ter! Over... mask!!"

We were all pushing now; I could feel their hands against my chest and back, supporting me as I was lifted upwards...

If I could just open my eyes, would I see them?

"Yusei... he's...coming to. Be str..."

The faint glow of approaching dawn bled through the dark veil across my eyes, revealing the unfocused faces of those working tirelessly around me in a world of light. The Door lay translucent behind them, half forgotten in the starlight fading above. They were smiling, radiant and beautiful in their own ways, tears springing up in a few of their eyes, scolding me for scaring them...

... Scaring them? No... Too close... this... this was too close!

And I did something completely stupid and reckless, I dove headfirst back into the darkness, willingly blotted out the light that my destroyed body and precious bonds were trying to bring me. I would not falter at the last hurdle!

But the Door was fading. The King's laughter was growing. Everything was falling to pieces, and for a second that doubt was back, taunting me, telling me that I had only repeated my mistakes, that I had not learned anything, that this time I would truly ruin the lives of all the people I loved.

_No... No... No..._

"Yusei? Are you...?"

They were clearer where they _needed_ to be nothing more than figures in the background. Slowly the Door dissolved, giving way to the miracle of modern medicine as the blotched faces of the Izayois came into slow focus, frantic and hopeful as their wealth worked to save me.

_Not yet... I have to see my Choice through... I must..._

"You're not going anywhere Yusei! Earthbound God Ccapac Apu!"

The Door moved. The King screamed.

I looked up and saw, not the group of Signers, but the perpetually confident face of the long dead. He stood tall, gripping my shoulders with one hand and holding his card up with the other, his long silver hair tasseled in the gusts his summoning created.

"Kiryu?"

His old grin cut through the space between us, his gold eyes dangerous in the way that they should have always been. "What? Did you think you were the only one with a Choice to make Yusei?"

"Summon! Earthbound God Aslla Piscu!"The girl with the glasses came into view as her giant beast dragged the King away from the Door with the help of Kiryu's. His face mirrored my own as his once loyal servants fought bitterly against him, dragging him into the land of lava and hate.

"I will repent for my actions! Earthbound God Cusillu!!" The fist of the monkey that had nearly crushed Rua slammed into the side of its master, furious and deadly.

"You revealed the truth to me Yusei! I will repay that debt! Earthbound God Ccarayhua!" The lizard that had killed Divine by that truth bellowed angrily at the shapeless King, digging its teeth into his side.

"I am indebted to you no more! Earthbound God Chacu Challhua!" The whale that once held his heart hostage collided with his body, rattling his grip to the Door.

As if strengthened by the sight, the darker Signers took me in their own grasps and shouldered the Door with me, bodies jerking with the effort. Doing a little more than slumping against the closing barrier, I took them all in; dazed by their clear eyes and pure intentions, wondering if the emotion was mine or the Kings.

"How...?"

"You gave us hope Yusei," Carley grinned through her labors, sweat running tracks down her pale face.

Misty nodded at her new friend and added, "You showed us all the truth."

"We are not indebted to the power of the Earthbound Gods," Demark continued, using his sheer muscle strength against the yielding object.

Bommer's free hand crashed against my shoulder, "Or the error of our past mistakes."

"We control our own fates," Kiryu finished with another smile. "And we have to make that choice ourselves. There's no way I'd go down without an ending like this. There would be no satisfaction otherwise."

Something in their sparkling eyes urged me forward, propelled my hands to the Door that burned me, and gave me the strength to match my unwavering power of will. "Thank you... all of you... thank you."

"We wouldn't leave you alone in this fight," Kiryu assured, jaw setting into a hard grimace as out combined weight inched the boundary forward.

**_No! No! I am your Master! I command you to stop!_**

"Attack harder!" Carley declared. "I won't let you hurt Yusei or Jack or anyone in the world anymore King! This destruction has to stop!"

She turned to me, revealing the startlingly beautiful eyes that Jack had fallen in love with behind her amusing spectacles. "Yusei, our monsters will hold him off for a while, but he's still stronger than his servants combined. We've got to hurry."

"I understand." And I truly did.

So we stood united, life and death, suicide, murder, and sacrifice, together at the gates of hell, fighting with all our lives and afterlives for a Choice that was made by none other than ourselves, selfless and selfish, for the sake of both worlds. Without the full resistance of the King, the Door moved easier under our efforts, inching steadily closer to the end while we grunted and struggled. Somewhere beyond our friends in the world of light called out for me, begged for me to return.

_I will... I will...that is my ascension past fate._

**_I refuse that!_**

With a scream that came from either me or him, the Earthbound Gods assaulting him were thrown into oblivion, where they would not rise again. The renewed Signers around me fell at the loss, something akin to life dissipating from them, but they fought regardless, echoing my own sacrificial flame.

**_Feel my wrath! I will destroy you all!_**

"No!"

I threw myself at the Door as he did, succeeding only in bruising my shoulder and launching myself away as it swung open wide, revealing the horrors of the world within. It was a world with a bloody sky, filled with smoke and flames and dark towers that stretched ominously into the crimson clouds. It was a world of burning flesh and stumbling lost ones. It was a world reserved for those who had committed the worst crime. It was the world of hell.

And he was on fire himself, burning black as he towered on the threshold, torn and wounded from his battle against his own puppets. His form shuddered as he screamed towards the heavens, reaching out again and again to slam against my unbreakable red dome, enraged and agonized past any level of sanity.

Strangely, there was no fear as I watched the talon come down and down again. I knew that he could not touch me, so I rose and faced him head on, arms wide open in invitation. His glare was scathing, and I knew if he could cross over fully, he would have simply swallowed me whole with his never-ending blackness.

But I would not have that.

He was weakened now, and although the dead Signers were fading, they had risen as well, they were already heading for the Door, and soon they would be pushing.

**_This is not over! This is not over!_**

"I'm afraid it is King!"

**_Wha—?_**

"It's a strange thing, isn't Yusei?" I turned against my will at the sound of that voice, the one voice I had come to hate, and stared as that man whispered out of the darkness, ash to ash, something terribly akin to redemption in his dark eyes—those eyes that were locked on the Mark that he had forfeited, on my arm, then on my shield, on the Dark Signers, and finally... his King.

My mouth opened, but no words escaped, just a single hissed gasp. The irrepressible reaction did not seem to bother him, in fact, he grinned at me before facing his master with arms wide open, the Spider a sickly purple on his white skin. "Hating your own Mark enough you're reborn to destroy it!"

The earth shook with his proclamation, and from the same rubble Earthbound God Uru rose once more, glaring at me with its many hungry eyes. Alarmed into action, I swerved to face him, holding said bond in front of me like a torch, eyes narrowed at his challenge. My hand went automatically to my belt, reaching for the Dragon Card that couldn't appear here, and he laughed mercilessly, ordering the attack that had failed to kill me before.

_"Rudger!"_ one of the other's gasped, voices rough as the challenge before us, and I braced myself for a second impact, not trusting my screaming heart to attack, for fear that I would not stop.

_Was this the last hurtle the King had for me? A hatred that I could not over—?_

With a thunderous shriek, the right half of the Door banged closed, seized by the eight powerful legs of the traitorous spider. Jaw slack, I stared at the structure with the same blank astonishment as the King, knowing full that this was my own heart's reaction. Searching for the truth, he grinned at me sidelong, the gesture a grimace of pain from his pulsing Mark.

"This Mark was my mistake, and I will use my second chance to destroy it... for the sake of my brother." My mouth snapped closed with embarrassing clarity, something that would never have crossed my expression in the upper world.

"It seems we've made a detour, dear brother." Once again, my body jerked around at the sound of a familiar dead enemy, and I saw what had been lost between us in the final moment of our duel. Goodwin stood across in his normal attire, smiling as if I had given him life's most amazing gift. Following his gaze to his deceased brother, I wondered if, perhaps, to him, I had.

**_This betrayal is unforgivable! I will destroy you all! I revoke EVERYTHING!!_**

He revived from his stupor once more, struggling with the closed twin of the open Door, burning even darker with his pointless labors. The Signers without sides cried out in anguished misery, and I ran to them, falling beside them with outstretched arms as if I could aid them. Bodies convulsing with pain that was too full of life to be dead, their red marks ignited with purple fire before burning away, leaving scars in their wake.

Desperation gave me strength, and I caught Kiryu before he fell, nearly mistaking the tears in his eyes for fear rather than joy. His mouth moved, but the words were lost in the roar of the King as he attacked once more, slaughtering any chance the Nazca Line monsters would have at revival 5000 years from now. The Spider erupted into hellfire, withering away into ashes with a silent scream, destroyed by its own Creator.

Flakes of lava spilled from the doorway, painting the stones at our feet an angry red, making coals of them or melting them into the greedy sweep of the River. Clutching my friend close to my chest, praying that I would not lose him this way again tonight (_There's no satisfaction in an ending like this, Yusei)_, I hollered to his agonized form, "Stop this pointless destruction! You'll only destroy yourself!"

But he was beyond even my reach; he was in a place beyond understanding and sanity, a place that I could never follow, and a place that the Signers around me had turned their backs on.

**_I WILL START ANEW THROUGH THE BODY OF MY DESTROYER!! EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE MUST DIE TO BE REBORN INTO A NEW WORLD!! THIS ONE IS DAMNED BEYOND SAVING AND I WILL NOT LOSE TO _****PITIFUL, LOATHSOME HUMANS!! **He punctuated the last words with shoves at the door, uncaring as he bled black smoke with each collision or that the contact sent shock waves along the shorelines, crumbling the rocks around us.

"So the world is your Phoenix now, is it King?" Goodwin commented, holding his arms out like he had before our duel started. "I have learned better, and I see that you refuse to."

Then he paused, looking at me peculiarly, as if from the eyes of another, "You should not condemn Yusei, for he is a better man than I. He is trying to understand and save you while I can do nothing but spit in your direction. You are the root of your own suffering! People are lonely all the time—but it takes new bonds and promises from old ones to get over it! My pain for the damage I have dealt him gives me the will to fight, the will to crush people like you who cannot hope to understand!"

Jack's words. _Jack's words. Those words. Those were the words!_

**_QUOTE DEAD KINGS TO YOUR STILL HEART'S CONTENT, IT WILL NOT CHANGE YOUR FATES!!_**

"He already has King," his eyes found mine, mirroring both his brother and I, and something deeply rooted in me shook free.

_He is trying to understand and save you... You're not the only one with a Choice to make... our bonds will see us through... bonds will surpass destiny!_

"The Choice..." my voice trailed off, swallowed by the gasps of the fighting dying, screeches of the King, rushing of the river, echoes of oblivion, and the divine power of the forces working through us...

He smiled, "Shadow of the King, demon that plagued Earth, Earthbound God Wiraquocha Rasca! Rise again and finish this fight! Fulfill the Choice that Yusei has created! Protect the bonds that he has reestablished! Fight for the love he's reminded us of!"

With the lightning of horror and understanding, the defeated Condor shook itself into reality, throwing the burning King to the side with a charge of its massive beak. Smoke curled off its feathers, vanishing into the brimstone filled air as quickly as it had appeared, and the full form of its talon grabbed the Door.

"Death Singularity!"

Gouged by his shadow, the King reacted as violently as he had to his other servants, sparing no mercy to his once loyal beast, sparing no thought that it wasn't the monster itself that had changed sides, it was the will of the Signers guiding those hands. The once immortal beast keened with pain but continued forward, a giant torch that burned bright crimson against the blackness. With a start I realized the beast meant to kill itself in order to close the Door, and shielded Kiryu and the others to the best of my ability from the fiery aftershock.

_**NO! NO! I CANNOT GO DOWN HERE! NO! NOT THIS PAIN AGAIN...!**_

With one final curse from the King, the Door slammed closed, shaking the entire Underworld with its colossal bang.

"Yusei... we did it..." Kiryu grinned, voice fading as if stolen by a great wind. "Finally... satisfied..."

He said no more. Gently, I laid his head to rest on the smoldering earth and glanced back at the two who had done what I set out to do, the two that had saved us. One that filled me with hatred and the other that was like me.

"Do not thank us Yusei," Rudger cut in, human once more, human in a way that I couldn't see him earlier this night. His brother nodded in agreement, already turning the pale color of white ash, ready to depart from this world for one last time, "It was because you brought me back that this was even possible. It was because you saw our bonds that we could make our own choices. And that was your Choice to end the war Yusei."

I looked towards the once dark Signers as their consciousness left them, leaving their bodies slumbering husks against the dark, smooth stones. An end to the war...

"Over power, hatred, and greed you chose bonds, regardless of which side of the field they were on. And those bonds have done more than see you through Yusei," Rudger finished up, glancing towards his once fellow Dark Signers as they sat dazed on the rocky floor. "They have seen us all through."

_Have I?_ Staring at them all, the five who had loved us enough to hate us, who had made the right decision in the end to simply die for me... that seemed like the path of the true Destroyer, the role the King had willingly played against his Earthbound Gods. But when I returned to the brothers to say so, I found my words lost in their calm eyes.

"We won't let you all suffer because of our mistakes," Goodwin asserted, turning to his brother fondly, peace and serenity smoothing the wrinkles of plotting and hatred from his face. Perhaps this was the face that my father had seen every day, the face that had prompted him into trusting Goodwin with not only his work, but with his only son as well. Seeing the soft curves in his face, I knew it to be true.

The other nodded in soft agreement, smiling at his family before turning his eyes skyward, eyeing a light in the distance that I would some day see again.

"Take care of them Yusei," Goodwin asked with a nod towards his victims. The will to speak had not yet returned to me, but I nodded firmly as I could, hardly able to believe what my ears so avidly clung to. "We await our reunion, and I believe there are many things that I have to make up for yet."

There was a pause as Rudger and I stared at each other from the same side, unable to find middle ground even with a mediator firmly between us. Finally, he said, "That darkness you hold... don't let it fester any longer. Apologize if that's what you need to do... but know that I am sorry that I caused it."

They both stood white with renewed faith and love, ready to fade into oblivion to save those that they had willingly deceived. The Door melded into the background beside us without a sound of farewell, taking whatever consciousness the companions behind me had with it. This, I realized with a faint sort of joy, was truly the end.

I found my voice, "Don't apologize."

Surprised, side by side with his dearly loved brother, the two faded away into flecks of white dust, lighting the darkness like stardust.

And perhaps... just perhaps... gave me... Hope.

* * *

**Third Person POV**

Today was the day; they could all feel it in their bones—through their bonds.

Though excitement threatened to burst past their mouths with each passing second they waiting in utter silence, staring at his relaxed brow as he struggled through the final parting of his dreams. It was hard to believe how little time they had spent with him when they were this close to his heart, ready to knock down all the barriers he so jealously guarded it with.

How could they have only known him for a few months, spoken to him for a handful of days or weeks? How could they have betrayed him and have been without him for years at a time? How could they blame him for something that wasn't his fault in the first place? How could they do a number of these things and feel infinitely for one single person?

Perhaps the best answer lied in yet another question: How was it possible that the dead stood alive beside them, with swirled glasses that glowed softly in the sunlight along with a jewel on the center of a forehead, another which held a village in his arms, and a grin of gleaming satisfaction?

The workers around them did as they always did, changing bandages or checking vitals, muttering about _options_ or _money_ or other nonsense that was unspeakable. They were ignored wholeheartedly today, simply because it was The Day.

_Finally,_ after many patient weeks of waiting by his side, of many shared words and hearts, of many hands being held and bodies embraced, the blue eyes that had bound them together winked open, bright and clear in a way the old imposter could never be.

Several breaths were caught in their surprised throats or smiles at the sight, and more than one whispered his name softly from their lips. The time would come for cheers, for celebration, for tales of the River, of the great sacrifice of the two brothers who had started and ended the war, for discussion on the true Choice that had been made... but now it was not.

Now was time for a simple smile to pass between them, for eyes to dry of any tears of doubt, and for the beginning of a true bridge to sparkle at them from beyond the wide windows of this white room.

Now was the time to marvel in the true power that held this world together, the true cycle that would always remain changing.

"We've won," he whispered, voice scratchy with injury but glowing with pride. His eyes travelled across each of the Signers and beloved friends in the group, soft with gratitude. "And now we've met up in the end."

Through their unbreakable bonds.

* * *

(sobs) And it's over... ahh, well, onto the next story I suppose.

Thank you so much for reading and all of your kind words. I avidly await your ending opinions and hope that you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it.

Thank you,

AxJfan


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